


The Red and Gold Snake

by GittieKittie



Series: Harry in Slytherin [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Grey Harry, Manipulative Dumbledore, Slight Dumbledore Bashing, Slight Weasley Bashing, Slytherin Harry, grey hermione
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 15:39:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 68,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9391517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GittieKittie/pseuds/GittieKittie
Summary: Harry's second year at Hogwarts can't come quick enough. His friends haven't written to him the whole summer and he's scared they might have forgotten him. Well, that's how it start at least. His Slytherin friends prove to be as loyal as you can expect from harry Potter's friend. New people get introduced to the group, and families will get explored.When a dark and evil source is set free in the castle, will the Slytherins be capable of not only saving the school, but also saving their house's name?Second book in the Harry in Slytherin collection





	1. Chapter 1: Owl post

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there, here is the second book in the Harry in Slytherin collection. I will be following the general storyline of the original story again but there will be more changes than in the first book. Harry is after all finding his place in the Slytherin world.  
> Enjoy!

_Hello Harry,_

_So how are you doing? I hope your family is being nice. My parents suggested on going out for a day, just doing some muggle stuff. Maybe your aunt and uncle would love that. I was wondering if there is something you want for your birthday. I know it’s coming up soon and I haven’t have the slightest idea what to get you. I want it to be something more than some candy. Just let me know if you can think of something._

_Loves,_

_Hermione_

 

 

_**Hey there Harry,** _

_**So, I was wondering if you got my first letter because I never received an answer of you. I was wondering if you still wanted to come to my place. My mother was delighted when I asked her and Theo and Granger already send their answers. Theo comes the whole month of August and Grangers wants to join us after Diagon Alley. So now I’m just waiting for your answer Potter. Just so you know, don’t forget your broom because we’re going to do some Quidditch. And you don’t have to worry, you won’t see Drake, we planned on spending this month together.** _

_**I hope to hear something soon** _

_**Blaise** _

 

 

**Harry,**

**Did you get my letters? Is everything alright? I really hope everything is okay and that those muggles are being good to you. I already send you two letters by now and didn’t receive an answer. Did you get Blaise’ letter already? He invited me to come over to his mansion. I have been there one time before and his mother is awesome! Hermione send me a letter to tell me she’s coming to join us after Diagon Alley. I’m kinda curious about how that will end with Blaise and her being in the same house for over a week. Oh before I forget it, my father wanted to know if you wanted to come along before we leave for Blaise. Just let me know**

**Theo**

 

**Hey Blaise,**

**Did you receive an answer from Harry? Neither me or Hermione get one back. What about his birthday? If we don’t get an answer we better forget about the surprise party. Hermione agreed on coming over for the party but she had to go home afterwards. I don’t know if she already told you that but, anyway, I thought I would just say it. Those muggles better be good for Harry. I thought they were stricter with children than we wizards. I swear, we should ask him about how they treat him.**

**Hope to hear you soon**

**Theo.**

 

_Hey Blaise,_

_Sorry to bother you but did you receive an answer from Harry already? I asked Theo but he said he didn’t. I haven’t gotten  one back either and I’m getting pretty worried. I would go by him if I could but my parent can’t get a day off._  
  
_Please let me know soon_

_Hermione_

 

 

_**Potter,** _

_**You better get of your sorry ass and write us back! Do you know what happens when you don’t write back? Everyone writes to me to ask what happened to you. I’m going insane if I receive one more letter from Granger asking if I heard something from you. Do every one a favour and write her back first. I’m no stupid Harrypedia! If something bad happened to you I want you to know we will kill those muggles** _

_**See you soon** _

_**Blaise** _


	2. Rescuing Harry

“You are getting it now, boy!” Uncle Vernon said, slapping Harry’s head hard. The boy winced in pain and tried to defend his face. “You are going to your room right away and you’re lucky we have visitors or I would teach you a lesson! In your room, now!” He hit him at his back one more time before throwing him in his room.  
Harry screamed in annoyance, hitting the closed door with his fists. That house elf ruined everything! Not only did he ruin his chance for getting back to Hogwarts, he also ruined his birthday and made him think his friends had forgotten him. What if they thought he had forgotten them? And what was he talking about a great evil in Hogwarts? He had defeated Voldemort last year! Who could be worse than him? He groaned and looked at his bruised hand. Great, he thought. Not only did his back hurt like hell, but now his hand did too. He let himself fall down on his bed, closing his eyes for a moment, trying to get his pain under control, before he remembered Dobby had stolen the letters from his friends.

He quickly got up again, jumping up from his bed so he could take the letters he had put on his drawer. He quickly scanned them and saw he had some of Theo, getting more concerned with every letter he wrote, from Hermione who was asking if everything was alright because she had asked Blaise and Theo if they had gotten any answer back but they hadn't, and from Blaise who bluntly told him he better got off his sorry ass and write back because he was going insane with the concerned letters he was getting from Hermione and Theo who seemingly thought he was their Harrypedia. The last letters were from Kali, Diana and the twins, wishing him a happy birthday. He sighed relieved, knowing they would get him out here if he didn't show up at Hogwarts was something to keep him going. And maybe, after what happened, he didn't need to come back anymore! Being a bit more relaxed, he dozed off, only to be awaken again by a loud banging on the door. What in Salazar’s name was going on. Uncle Vernon had heard it as well, because his loud, angry voice could be heard all the way to Harry's room.

"What do you think you're doing here? It's the middle of the... what are you doing?! I demand you to leave my house NOW!" The loud shriek of Aunt Petunia told him the source of the knocking didn't listen. Harry pulled his wand and walked towards his bedroom door so he could listen closer to the voices who were reduced to muttering by now. He couldn't make out with how much they were or what they were up to so he took a step back, his eyes falling on Hedwig who was looking at him with a lazy eye.

"You can hear who it is, don't you Hedwig?" He muttered. Walking closer to the owl. Lucky for him Hedwig was standing a meter away from the door because a second after his move the door came banging out of his frame, into the room.

"Salazar, Orion! You could've just used an Alohomara." Harry heard the voice of his Italian friend, Blaise Zabini saying in the hallway.

"Blaise?" The raven asked carefully. Making sure he had heard right.

"Hello there, golden boy." The Italian greeted, coming in sight from behind the giant in tuxedo.

"What would have been the fun in opening that door quietly, master Zabini?" The giant asked the small boy next to him. Harry quirked a brow at his friend.

"I suppose you're right." He muttered, before introducing Harry to his big friend. "This is Orion, my body guard." He explained as if it was the most normal case ever.

"Oh, of course. How come I didn't think of that." Harry drawled sarcastically.

"No need to be like that, Harry. We came to save your sorry arse remember." Blaise drawled. "Orion get his luggage. We're leaving!" The huge man listened without hesitating and went into the room to grab Harry's stuff.

"My luggage is downstairs under the stairs, I can get it myself.” He said to the body guard who didn’t want to listen and went downstairs to get everything after grabbing Hedwig. “Are my Uncle and Aunt alright with you 'rescuing' my sorry arse?" Harry asked curious.

"Yeah, if that makes you sleep at night, they are." Blaise spoke. Harry followed his friend downstairs, frowning about the cryptic answer, which changed into a shocked expression when he saw his Uncle and Aunt standing next to another Giant. "That's Keith." Blaise introduced. "My second body guard."

"Oh, alright.” He looked at the angry look Uncle Vernon was giving him. No punishment for him. He thought cheery. “Well I see you next summer I suppose." Harry spoke gleefully at his family who just glared at him, not daring to speak. Harry followed Blaise outside and his mouth fell open. "A limo?" He stuttered.

"Do you like it?" Blaise asked chuckling. He opened the door and got in, making himself comfortable on the backseat. When Harry followed he was surprised to see his other friend, Theodore 'Theo' Nott, sitting with a big book in his hands.

"Took you long enough." The boy spoke, closing his book. "I’ll send Hedwig to Hermione so she can stop worrying." He told, releasing the owl out of her cage the moment Orion put her in the limo.

"You know that's my owl, right?" Harry asked amused.

"Shut up, Harry." Blaise growled. "I'm trying to get the girl of my back since holiday started. Seriously, Golden boy, if you ever plan on getting jailed again, notify her!" Harry just chuckled at his friends complains.

"So where are we going?" He asked.

"Home." Blaise answered, before opening a box of candies and sharing it with them.

They started to drive and Harry yawned.

“So, where is your home?” He asked curious.

“In Wessex.” Blaise commented dryly. “My mother is a great fan of the Vikings.”

“Vikings?” Harry mouthed surprised.

“Yeah, didn’t you know the kingdom of Wessex is known for the Vikings?” Theo said surprised.

“I’m not that good in history.” Harry muttered dryly.

“So what happened?” Blaise asked, after a comforting silence. “Why didn’t you answer our letters?”

“I couldn’t. Hedwig wasn’t allowed out of her cage. The poor girl hadn’t spread her wings since start of summer. And something really weird happened.” He said as an afterthought.

“What kind of weird?” Theo asked carefully. “Weasley-sweater weird, Blaise and Hermione getting along weird, Draco in a pink dress weird or Quirrel weird?”

“Draco in a pink dress weird?” The raven looked at his friend with big eyes.

“Long story, we’ll save it for another time.” Blaise said. “Now tell us your story.”

Harry told them everything about Dobby. How he had hijacked his letters and had warned him about something dangerous at Hogwarts. When he said that, both boys sighed in union but didn’t interrupt him in his story. And they were very pleased they didn’t when he told them about the purple plum accident.

“My mother will solve that.” Blaise ensured his friend. “She’s a lawyer so she will get those things erased before you can say Quidditch.” Blaise joked.

“But the elf didn’t tell you who his master was?” Theo asked.

“Like, he didn’t drop a clue about… you know, the Malfoys?” Blaise asked.

“Why would he drop a clue about the Malfoys?” Harry asked surprised. “And I would be surprised if he serves them. He came to _save_ me after all and he said he heard a lot about my _greatness_.”

“Well, maybe Draco rants at his elf about how handsome you are and how good your hair was looking and what fine abs you get because of Quidditch.” Theo joked.

“Are you starting again?” Harry muttered. “For the last time, I’m not dating Malfoy!”

“So, there wasn’t a love-letter between those letters Dobby had stolen?” Blaise snickered.

“Shut up.” Harry growled. His grumbling stomach made his friends laugh though.

“Hungry?” Theo asked amused, pulling up a brow.

“Yeah, you can imagine I didn’t get much food after the plum incident.” Harry chuckled. But Blaise nor Theo saw the humour in that. Blaise handed him a cup of soup and some French bread.

“Do they do that a lot, sending you to bed without food?” Theo asked. Harry didn’t know a lot about pureblood civility but he knew enough of it to know that it was not done to mingle yourself in other households. For him doing that, it meant he was really worried. He could see Blaise was waiting for an answer as well.

“Now less than they did before.” Harry said. “I don’t know how it will be next summer though.” He muttered.

“If we have a word in it, you’re not going back next summer.” Blaise grumbled.

Harry took a sip from his soup and sighed in pleasure. It was tomato, his favourite. Knowing his friends would do everything to make his life pleasurable was a nice feeling though.

“Thanks, guys.” He muttered.

“No problem, golden boy.” Blaise said amused.

“No problem, Harry.”  Theo said smiling.

 

 


	3. Ill Palazzo Zabini

It was dawn when they arrived at the Zabini mansion and the three young Slytherins had fallen asleep in the backseats. It was Orion who woke them up.

“Master Zabini, we’re home.” The big guy gently shook Blaise arm. Harry who was a light sleeper had woken up the moment Orion had opened the door but his two friends hadn’t. “Master Zabini.” The man shook his Italian friend a tad harder and the boy shocked awake.

“I didn’t do it!” He yelled. Well, you could say that woke Theo up as well.

“What didn’t you do?” He asked grumpily. His hair was sticking all directions and his eyes were very small. “Because you certainly woke me up.”

Harry snickered at his two friends and noticed Orion waiting patiently.

“We’re home, Master Zabini.” He said. “If we want to sneak in before your mother wakes up we better get going.”

“We need to sneak in?” Harry asked surprised.

“Yeah, didn’t I tell you that? My mother wasn’t informed that we were going to get you.” Blaise said as a matter of fact. “Now, come on. If  we’re quick we can get some sleep before she wakes us up and we tell her you were dropped off by your family.”

The three Slytherins got out of the car and Harry froze when he saw the Zabini mansion. It was more of a palace in his eyes. It was built with a light brown stone with a lot of windows in it. Before they could enter the house they had to take a small set of stairs first that was surrounded by rosebushes.

“Welcome to Il Palazzo Zabini.” Blaise said proudly. “Mom likes everything that has to do with gardening so after we got some sleep I shall give you a tour.”

“You must check out his swimming pool.” Theo said smirking. “They have one on the roof and you can see the whole setting.”

“You even can see the sea.” Blaise said smiling. “That’s behind those trees.” He pointed at some oaks. They quickly went towards the front door that opened the moment they arrived. Harry, who thought it had something to do with magic, just wanted to comment on that, when a shrill voice sounded from behind the door.

“BLAISE ZABINI! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!” A bronzed woman with long black hair and piercing brown eyes came from behind the door. She was wearing a lilac bathrobe and a very angry expression.

“NO NOTE! BED’S EMPTY AND BODYGUARDS GONE! YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLENATION OR I SWEAR YOU CAN FORGET ALL YOUR PLANS FOR THE SUMMER.”

“But mom, we had to save Harry. Those muggles had jailed him in his room without food!” Blaise tried to reassure with her. It seemed as if the woman only that moment noticed that Blaise was accompanied by Harry and Theo.

“Poor child, come in quickly.” Blaise, who thought he was off the hook smiled relieved. “And you, make sure his trunks get upstairs.” The woman said to her son. “Without using one of the elves or your bodyguards.” The boy groaned but did as told, taking over the luggage from Orion.

“I’m sorry, Fina.” Theo muttered with a guilty face. “We should’ve left a note.”

“Don’t you worry, Theo.” The woman smiled at both him and Harry. “Orion did leave a note, I just wanted to give Blaise a good scare so he would think of that next time.” She winked at them and both boys chuckled. One thing was sure, she had succeeded in that! “And you must be Harry, welcome to our house.” She gave the raven a tight hug before releasing him again. “Now, what do the two of you think about some scrambled eggs and bacon as breakfast? It’s Blaise’s favourite.”

“That sounds wonderful, Mrs. Zabini.” Harry said politely.

“Oh, you can call me Fina, dear. That’s the only name I keep.” The woman gave him a warm smile and let them through the entrance hall towards the kitchen. “Now, I see my dear son wasn’t exaggerating when he said those muggles withhold you food.” She muttered, scanning Harry’s skinny form. “Bella!” She demanded. A small house-elf appeared, wearing a black apron. The elf smiled at her mistress.

“What can Bella do for Mistress?” She asked in a high pitched voice. She didn’t seem to have the slightest resemblance with Dobby’s behaviour, Harry noticed.

“Could you make some breakfast for the children and a smoothie for me?” Fina asked kindly.

“Of course, Mistress. What do the young Masters want as breakfast?” She asked politely.

“Give them some scrambled eggs, bacon and toast.” Fina said. The little elf nodded before she disappeared with a small thump.

“Everything is upstairs mom.” Blaise said, walking in the kitchen. Stretching a bit before yawning.

“Good. Now sit down at the table.” The nice look on her face had disappeared and she glared at her son who quickly did as told. “You two as well, dears.” She said a tad nicer to Theo and Harry. She turned around and started to pour some water in a kettle. “Have you any idea how worried I was Blaise? I had no idea where you were going and I didn’t know if you were accompanied by your bodyguards or that they noticed you were gone and had went after you!”

“Sorry mom.” He muttered timidly. “I should’ve left a note.” He muttered.

“Yes you should.” She said, giving him a stern look over her shoulder. “Now, promise me you leave a note if you ever leave the house again without my knowledge.” She said sternly.

“I promise mom.” The boy said, the look of guilt very clear on his face.

Bella, the house-elf, chose that moment to appear with four plates filled with scrambled eggs and one smoothie. Harry frowned. He thought Fina didn’t want any eggs.

“Julio is getting the young Mistress, Mistress.” Bella said, placing the plates on the table in front of everyone.

“Thank you Bella, can you make sure Orion and Keith get something to eat as well.”

“Bella will do that immediately, Mistress.” The elf disappeared and Harry looked at Blaise.

“I didn’t know you had a sister.” He said surprised.

“Oh, Ella isn’t my sister.” He said, digging in his food. “She’s my niece.”

“Ella is the daughter of my sister.” Fina explained. “After their dead we decided to take care of her.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Fina.” Harry said quietly.

“It doesn’t matter dear.” The woman smiled.

“Aunt Fina!” A small girl came running in the kitchen and gave her aunt a hug. She had two, light brown braids hanging over her light green dress. Harry guessed the girl to be maybe seven years old.

“Hey there, Ella. Did you sleep well?” Fina asked, picking the girl up, resting her on her hip. The girl nodded enthusiastically. Harry was digging in his food as well but looked up when Fina wanted to introduce her. “Ella, we have an extra visitor, did you notice?” The woman spoke. The little girl shyly looked in the tables direction but quickly hid her face in Fina’s side when she noticed Harry was looking up. “Now, now, where are your manners, girl.”  Fina said sternly. “Come, go and greet Harry properly.” She put the little girl back on the ground and Harry watched her walking over. He was surprised when he saw her face. She had flat facial features and a small nose, with two golden eyes with slightly upward slants. Her ears were very small as well. The girl had down syndrome and he never had seen someone more adorable than her.

“Hello there,” he greeted gently. “I’m Harry and you must be Ella.” The girl nodded and took his outreached hand. Harry kissed her hand gently and smiled at the girl who giggled. “Nice to meet you, Ella.” The boy didn’t noticed the softened look both Zabini’s got when they saw how he handled their little niece and he didn’t notice the small smile playing around Theo’s lips when he looked at the kind gesture between the two. Harry only noticed the big smile he got from the seven year old who decided a hug was the appropriate thank you for the kiss on her hand.

 After dinner, Blaise and Theo decided to give Harry a tour in the house and the garden while Fina and Ella went to the drawing room so the girl could play on the piano for a while.

“Ella is adorable.” Harry said, following Blaise through the whole house – they had a sport-room where you could bowl or Golf, a drawing room where a piano was standing along with some cosy couches and a fire, several bedrooms and bathrooms, a dining room, play room and a ballroom. And there was a large library upstairs Harry knew Hermione wouldn’t want to leave. He was surprised Theo did. – “Is she living here long already?”

“She is, isn’t she.” Blaise agreed smiling, leading him upstairs towards the roof. “She’s here for six years already. Her mother died from heart seizure and her father is unknown.” He explained, opening a door towards the roof. Blaise went first outside and was followed by Theo who looked over his shoulder with a small smile. When Harry came outside, the first thing he noticed was the giant pool with several waterfalls and little islands. It seemed as if he had sat foot in the amazon forest. The pool was surrounded with some bushes and had several plants and fishes in it as well. Harry ogled at it and walked over the wooden island that went over the whole pool.

“Come on, this is the most beautiful spot!” Blaise said smiling. He led Harry to a part where the bushes had went aside to make room for a waterfall downstairs. From that spot you could see the whole garden and a Jacuzzi downstairs.

“You gotta love magic.” Theo chuckled. “You can take the waterfall downstairs without any risk but that isn’t everything, you can take him upstairs as well.” Harry’s mouth fell open.

“I told you my mother loves everything that has to do with nature.” Blaise said amused. Harry looked over the garden that reminded him of a fairy world.  There were rosebushes everywhere, surrounded with cherry trees and other flowers Harry didn’t know the name of. There was a sort of stairs leading downstairs towards a pond filled with the most colourful fishes and seats placed around it. He saw swans and peacocks walking around and swimming and he didn’t know where he should let his eyes go first.

“It’s like a fairy world.” He muttered.

“I think there are some fairies living here.” Blaise said shrugging. “The most time I spend in the garden is over there, to play Quidditch.” He pointed at a lawn.

“If my aunt saw this she would try to confiscate your garden.” Harry said amazed.

“Aunt Cissy and mom have the most beautiful gardens in whole England.” Blaise said smiling. 

“Aunt Cissy is Draco’s mother.” Theo explained. “They aren’t real family but…”

“We are so close we could be.” Blaise said shrugging his shoulders. “Let’s go downstairs.”

Harry nodded and followed his friends downstairs. He was lost in thoughts so when he bumped into someone he quickly muttered his apologies without looking up.

“Is that the way you greet your friends when you haven’t seen them over a month?” He heard a very familiar voice ask. He looked up, right into the brown eyes of Hermione Granger, his Gryffindor friend.

“Hermione?!” He said surprised, giving the girl a hug.

“Happy birthday Harry.” She chuckled. “I know your birthday already passed by but Blaise over there couldn’t save you earlier.” She handed him a small package.

“Happy birthday Harry!” Fred and George Weasley appeared out of nothing as well and hugged the surprised boy.

“What’s going on?” Harry asked surprised.

“We arranged a surprise party for you.” Theo said smiling. “We flood everyone over so you could have a nice birthday.”

“Hagrid is coming as well, but he’s a bit delayed… He couldn’t fit in the floe.” Blaise explained.

“Come on, open up your presents!” The Weasley twins cheered.

The rest of the day Harry spend with his friends, eating pie and swimming. The twins had given him some joke stuff they decided to test on Filch first thing when they would arrive at Hogwarts. Hermione had given him a book about Quidditch and some stuff to clean his broom, while Theo and Blaise had put money together to give him new seeker equipment. The moment Ella joined as well and became best friends with Hermione was the best gift Harry could’ve gotten though. The little girl had so much fun with the elder, teasing the boys, that she almost died laughing. They had water fights, raced through the pool and played a small game of Quidditch with Hermione and Ella as their personal Cheerleaders. Hagrid arrived the moment Harry caught the snitch and cheered loudly, making Harry almost fall of his broom. Sooner than they wanted the day was over and everyone had to leave.

“Say hi to your parents from me.” Harry said to the twins with a smile.

“We’ll do Harry!”

“See you at school!” they cheered before giving little Ella a final hug and leaving.

Hagrid, who had come with a flying bike, was the next to say goodbye and hugged Harry almost dead before he sobbed a goodbye as well and left. The last one was Hermione.

“Are you sure you have to leave, Mione?” Ella asked the girl, a single tear glittering on her cheek.

“I have to, my parents are waiting for me. But I promise I will return last week of summer.” She held out her pinkie. “I pinkie swear it to you.” The little girls face lit up and she folded her small pinkie around Hermione’s before giving her a tight hug.

“Good trip, Miss Granger.” Fina said smiling. “Come on, Ella, time to go to bed.” She picked the little girl up and waved at the brunette before leaving the room.

“Are you sure you can’t come earlier, Granger?” Blaise asked smiling. Apparently there were no hard feelings anymore for using him as a Harrypedia, Harry noticed amused.

“I would love to, but I can’t. I promised my parents to be home.” She said with a sad smile.

“A given word has to be kept.” Blaise muttered, shrugging his shoulders. “We’ll send you an owl when we got our Hogwarts letters.” She nodded.

“See you at Diagon Alley, Theo .” She said, winking at Theo before saying her goodbye to Harry as well.

“I hope this made up for your sucky birthday back home.” She whispered in his ear while she hugged him.

“You bet it did.” He smiled at the girl and the three Slytherins watched her disappear in the green flames, while saying her home-address.

The boys went upstairs and Blaise showed Harry his room. It was next to Blaise who’s room was in the middle.

“The bathroom is over there.” He pointed at a door in the other direction. “Ella sleeps next to my mom, that room there. She has nightmares so if you hear her screaming, just ignore her. Me or mom will take care of it.”

Harry nodded and after saying a quick good night they all went in their rooms. Harry’s was as big as the room he had now back at the Dursleys but it was cosier. He had a king-size bed and a window looking out over the garden. This was gonna be an awesome summer!”

 

 


	4. Diagon Alley

Life at the Zabini’s was very different than living with the Dursleys. At the Dursleys everything had to be neat and tidy while Harry saw several things littering in the drawing room and the kitchen was always a mess. Although Fina had house-elves to take care of the cooking, she loved to bake cookies with Ella or try something new she read somewhere. The fact that he was living in a magical house, became very clear the first time Harry looked in the mirror in his room and almost got a seizure himself.

“Brush your hair and tuck your shirt in!” The mirror had screeched.

Then there were the fairies in the garden. Although they seemed a lot like the fairies in fairy tales, they couldn’t talk and made a high, buzzing noise instead. They always darted around Harry and his friends when they went to play Quidditch in the garden, laughing at them when they missed the Quaffle. Blaise was a very good chaser and Theo was as well although he played keeper too. Harry had to admit he wasn't as good of a chaser as his mates, even though he succeeded in scoring once.

But the weirdest thing wasn’t the talking mirror or the fairies, the weirdest thing was that everyone seemed to like him. Fina always tried to make him eat four helpings every meal while she fussed over the state of his clothes. That’s why Harry had went the second day of his arrival to a witch for new clothes. He tried to talk himself out of it, that it was too much and when that didn’t help he tried to pay for his own clothes but Fina didn’t want to hear from it. That’s why he made a compromise and bought a lovely black apron for Ella with little pink bows on it.  The little girl seemed to be totally in love with him and Theo. Blaise was already joking about it, telling them that one of them probably would end up married with his little niece at the end of story. Orion and Keith did seem to like him as well. Harry learned they were actually a married couple and that the big, scaring Orion had knitting as a hobby. He had thought Theo and Blaise had been joking until he walked in on Orion knitting a doll for little Ella.

Their Hogwarts letters arrived one sunny afternoon about two weeks after Harry had arrived at Il Palazzo Zabini. He, Theo and Blaise went down to the breakfast table and saw Ella and Fina already seated.

“Your letters have arrived, apparently Dumbledore knows the two of you are here.” Fina said, handing them each a yellow envelop. For a few minutes there was a silence when everyone read their letter. Harry’s told him to catch the train at platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross station the first of September as usual. There was also a new lists of books he needed for the coming year.

Second-year students will require:  
****_The Standard book of Spells, Grade 2_ by Miranda Goshawk  
_Break with a Banshee_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Gadding with Ghouls_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Holidays with Hags_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Travels with Trolls_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Voyages with Vampires_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Wandering with Werewolves_ by Gilderoy Lockhart  
_Tear with the Yeti by Gilderoy_ Lockhart

Theo who was a speed-reader had finished his list already and grumbled.

“I guess our new D.A.D.A. teacher is a woman who’s a big fan of Lockhart.” He muttered darkly.

“She can’t be worse than a teacher who tries to kill you.” Blaise said.

“Jinx!” Ella said happily. The three boys looked at the little girl for a moment, getting the bad feeling she was right, but shrugging it off because they wanted a nice year for once.

“So, who is Lockhart?” Harry asked, trying to find another subject to talk about.

“Oh, he’s this wizard who’s famous for defeating different monsters.” Theo said.

“I think he would be a wonderful husband n° 8.” Fina said smiling, a wicked glint in her eyes. “I heard he has become very rich with all those books he has published.”

Blaise rolled his eyes at his mother’s remark. He stood up to get some tea for with his breakfast before turning around.

“I shall write a letter to Granger to ask her if she wants to meet us tomorrow for shopping.” He said, taking a sip from his cup. “I’m writing Drake as well. You can spend the day with Granger and I will fill my day with the blond prat.” He joked.

“I already sent a letter to Cissy. She informed me they will be in Diagon Alley, tomorrow morning. We can meet them there.”

“Alright, mom. Only a letter to Granger I guess.” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Who’s Granger?” Ella asked confused.

“Oh, Hermione Granger.” Blaise explained to the little girl. “You know, your friend.”

“Oh you’re talking about Mimi!” The girl beamed. “Yes! She has to come with us! I want to see her again!” The girl cheered happily. Blaise chuckled and shook his head before he picked the girl up in one motion.

“Come on! You can write the letter with me.” He said amused at the chuckling girl. Harry and Theo laughed at the sight in front of them before starting their breakfast.

Fina woke them up very early the next morning so they could leave for Diagon Alley. Bella had made waffles for the occasion and Harry quickly load up his plate with a bunch of them.

“That’s what I like to see, a boy with a good appetite.” Fina said happily.

“Mom, we all have a good appetite. You’re just favouring Harry because he’s famous.” Blaise said with a wink towards Theo. The boy chuckled and jumped in.

“Yeah, Fina. I feel left out!” He gave her a pout and made Ella giggle.

The woman chuckled at the three boys and shook her head.

“The three of you are knaves.” She accused them, throwing a towel at her son’s head, making little  Ella laugh even harder.

When they were done with breakfast they went to the drawing room. Harry looked a bit confused at what they were doing there and Fina noticed.

“Did you ever use the Floo?” She asked. When the boy shook his head the woman smiled at him. “Alright, Blaise you can go first then.” She told her son.

Blaise nodded and took a copper pot from the stove. He handed it to his mother and took some glittering powder out of it.

“It’s important you speak clearly.” Blaise said, throwing the powder in the hearth. “Diagon Alley!” The green flames rose higher than Blaise before he stepped into it and disappeared.

“Do not mutter.” Theo said. “Say it twice first.” Harry did as told before Theo finally let him take some of the powder. “Keep your arms tucked in and make sure you don’t miss the hearth.”

“Diagon Alley!” Harry spoke clearly as he had practiced. It felt as if he was being sucked down a giant plug hole. He seemed to be spinning very fast… the roaring in his ears was deafening… he tried to keep his eyes open but the whirl of green flames made him feel sick… Something hard hit his elbow and he tried to squeeze it even closer… now it felt as though cold hands were slapping his face… squinting through his glasses he saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the room behind… his breakfast wanted to come up again and he quickly squinted his eyes back shut. He just wished it would stop. Suddenly he felt himself being thrown out, head first, the loud screech indicating his glasses were broken again.

“Well, nice to see you’re so elegant, Harry.” He heard Blaise snicker before the boy helped him up. But he better could’ve let him on the ground because Harry ran over to the trash can to puke, letting the once delicious waffles leave come back to the surface.

“Is Harry alright?” The boy heard Ella ask but he was too busy with emptying his stomach to answer. He felt a hand rubbing his back and soothing the pain. When the last of the waffles was out a bottle of water was handed towards him.

“Thank you.” He muttered. He heard a muttered Reparo and his sight became clear again, bringing Hermione into his view.

“Feeling better, Harry?” Ella quickly ran towards him, giving him a hug. He smiled and hugged the girl back.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” He eased the girl.

“Preferring a  broom?” Blaise asked amused.

“You bet.” He muttered.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

Harry and the others decided that their first stop would be Gringotts. Hermione’s parents, the Grangers, seemed to be rather nervous but Fina quickly eased them by bringing up cooking as a subject to talk.

“Hermione!” Harry suddenly said. “You used magic!”

“Yeah, but I won’t get in trouble for that.” She said, shrugging her shoulders. “The lot of adult wizards in here will camouflage my magic.” She chuckled.

“Who would have thought our little Gryffindor was so cunning.” Blaise chuckled.

“We did see her fluent lying last year already.” Theo chuckled.

“And we know she’s the smartest witch in Hogwarts.” Harry poked Hermione in her waist and she giggled.

“The three of you are terrible.” She chuckled.

They entered the marble bank and just as the first time Harry had been here, he was stunned. It was just so magnificent. Even the goblins seemed to be fit right in.

After they had their money, they separated, arranging that they would meet each other at the bookshop an hour later. Blaise had settled on meeting Draco there as well so knowing they would separate after they got their books, the four students decided to stroll a bit through Diagon Alley and do some window shopping. They wandered through the warm streets, going from shop to shop. When they came past the broom shop the boys forgot for a moment that Hermione was with them as they looked in awe at the new brooms.

“Can we come back later? I want to get some parchments and quills first.” She asked them after a few minutes.

“Drake probably drags me down here later so fine by me.” Blaise said, shrugging his shoulders.

“I need some of that as well.” Theo said, turning away from the window and giving the girl a generous smile.

Harry teared his eyes away from the new nimbus 2001 that was stalled in the window and followed his friends towards the shop. Afterwards they went to Gambal and Japes, the wizarding joke shop, were they met Fred and George and their friend Lee Jordan. They were stoking all kind of joke stuff and Hermione seemed to be very curious. So curious they almost had to pull her away from them when it was time to go Flourish and Blotts. To their surprise, the twins needed to be there as well so they left together.

“So, what are you planning with those?” Hermione asked, pointing at the _No heat firework_ they were caring.

“You will see.” Fred teased the girl.

“But we promise you will enjoy it.” George ended.

When they came at Flourish and Blotts, they weren’t alone. Surprisingly there was a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for that was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows:

Gilderoy Lockhart  
_will be signing copies of his autobiography_  
Magical Me  
_today 12.30 – 4.30pm_

“We can actually meet him!” Hermione squealed. “I mean, he’s written almost the whole booklist.”

“No! Not you as well!” Fred exclaimed sighing.

“I thought you would be immune, you’re smart!” George said, a fake shocked look on his face. The girl blushed and looked down. Harry saw Blaise snicker and Theo smirk at that. He himself tried not to smile too hard.

The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around  Fina and Mrs. Weasley’s ages . A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, trying to calm the women down, telling them they had to mind the books. The students squeezed themselves through the bunch of older witches, quickly grabbing a copy of _Break with Banshee_ and looking for their family. Lucky for them, The Zabini’s, the Grangers and the Weasleys were standing together.

“Hello Mrs. Weasley.” Harry greeted the small, plum woman.

“Harry, dear! Good to see you!” Her only daughter, Ginny Weasley, was standing with her and started blushing hardly. The twins chuckled at that but didn’t comment on it because their mother glared at them.

Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table, surrounded by pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing their white teeth at the women. The real Lockhart was dressed in wearing robes of forget-me-not blue, witch exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard’s hat was set at a jaunty angel on his wavy hair. An irritating small guy was darting around him, making photos of him and releasing some purple dust every time. He shoved Hermione out of the way into Blaise.

“Move! I’m making pictures for the Daily Prophet.”

“Big deal, asshole.” Blaise muttered angrily, steadying the girl who pulled a face and rubbed the spot where the photographer had hit her with his elbow.

Lockhart heard him and looked at him, noticing Harry the moment he found the source of the voice. He stared. Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted:

“It can’t be Harry Potter?”

The crowed parted, whispering excitedly while Harry tried to blend in, cursing softly. Lockhart grabbed his arm though, and pulled him on the stage. The crowd cheered loudly while the photographer took several pictures, standing in front of Harry’s friends.

“Big smile, Harry.” Lockhart said through his own gleaming teeth. “Together, you and I are worth the front page.” When Lockhart finally let go of Harry’s hand, the boy couldn’t feel his fingers anymore. He tried to sidle back to his friends – Blaise and the twins just down right laughing at him – but Lockhart threw his arm over Harry’s shoulder. “Ladies and Gentleman!” Lockhart waved for attention and Harry longingly looked at his friends once again. “What an extraordinary moment this is. It’s the perfect time to make an announcement I have been longing to make. When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography – which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge” The crowd applauded again. “He had no idea –“ Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the tip of his nose. “That he would get in fact more than my book, Magical me. He and his schoolfellows will get the real me as at the begin of term I will be the new defence against the dark arts teacher at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” The whole crowd cheered again and Harry knew for sure he heard Hermione squeak in joy. Before he knew what happened the whole stack of Lockhart’s book was pushed into his arms and after a last picture he stumbled of the stage. He ended next to Ginny who was standing there with her new Cauldron.

“Here, you can have them.” Harry muttered, dumping them in the cauldron. “I’ll buy my own.”

“Bet you loved that, Potter.” A voice Harry had no problem to recognize said. He straightened himself and saw a smirking Malfoy walking over to them. “Can’t even walk into a bookstore without getting on the front page.”

“Leave him alone, Malfoy. He didn’t ask for this!” Ginny stuck up for the raven boy.

“Oh, you got yourself a girlfriend.” Malfoy taunted.

Ginny went a bright side of scarlet.

“What are you doing with my sister?” Ronald Weasley walked over to the three student. He was carrying books as well.

“Oh, look.” Malfoy muttered, looking down on the boy. “That must’ve cost your parents a month of food.”

The boy went as red as his sister and dropped his books in the cauldron, ready to launch himself at Malfoy.

“I wouldn’t do that.” Blaise’ threatening voice sounded from behind him.

“You’re very hard outnumbered, Weasley.” Theo said angrily.

“Come on, boys. Let’s just leave it at this.” Hermione tried to calm everyone down.

“Ron? What are you doing?” Mr. Weasley walked over to them, followed by Fred and George. “It’s crowded in here, let’s go outside.”

“Ah – Arthur Weasley.”

It was Mr. Malfoy, sneering in the same way Malfoy could.

“Lucius.” Mr. Weasley greeted, nodding coolly.

“Busy time at the ministry, I hear. I hope they pay you good enough with all those raids.” Mr. Malfoy reached into the cauldron, picking a book that looked very second handed out of it. “It seems they don’t. dear me, what’s the use of being a disgrace if they don’t even pay you enough for it?”

Mr. Weasley became even redder than his children.

“Lucius, that’s no way of talking to people.” Fina, Mrs. Weasley and a woman who seemed to have the same blonde hair as Malfoy approached them. The elder man scowled but threw the books he had picked up back into the cauldron.

“You’re right, Narcissa dear.” He muttered, glaring at Mr. Weasley before leaving the shop.

“So, ready for some fun?” Blaise asked Malfoy. “I saw the new Nimbus 2001.”

“I haven’t yet.” Malfoy said, a smirk covering his face. “Let’s go.”

“Can you take Ella with you?” Fina asked Hermione. “She wants to go with you guys.”

“Of course.” Hermione said cheerfully, picking the girl up. “I’ll show you I’m so much more fun than your cousin.”

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

Well, this wasn’t exactly how they had imagined the fun. Hermione was trying to cheer the girl up, trying to make her ignore the comments she got thrown to her head. She was crying hard on her shoulder and Theo noticed Harry ball his fists. He was glad Blaise wasn’t here, he most certainly would lose his patience.

“What’s your problem?!” The raven spat at Finnegan and his friends. Weasley and Finnegan were laughing cruelly but Thomas seemed to be uneased with the behaviour of his friends. “She’s just a little girl. She hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Ella?!” Theo cursed. That most certainly was Blaise’ voice. Harry had heard him as well and quickly turned around. “Ella, darling are you alright?” He quickly sped towards Hermione who was carrying the little girl. Draco was walking behind him, glaring at the three Gryffindors. He knew Ella was like a little sister to him and that whatever happened to her, it went to him as well.

“Oh look, the big bad Slytherin is worried for the little monster.” Finnegan taunted.

“Shut up, Finnegan!” Hermione growled, her eyes glaring daggers at him before she focused her attention back on the girl she was rocking. “Don’t listen to them, Ella. They’re just jealous.”

Blaise, who saw his niece was in good hands, didn’t stay his calm self, but lounged himself at Finnegan, hitting him the old fashioned muggle way. Both Draco and Harry went after him, intending on stopping their friend but getting pulled in the fight when the two Gryffindor prats interpreted it wrong and attacked them. Theo cursed, his eyes darted over to Hermione who quickly walked away with the girl so she could calm her down, giving him a look that told him he should fix it. Left alone, Theo looked around, they were standing in a corner of the street, close by the ice-cream shop but out of view from the adults. That’s when he remembered Fina and Narcissa had told them they were going to drink a cup of tea. He looked at the six fighting boys, tried to stop them by calling their names, failed miserable, and decided it was the only way. He quickly ran to the tea-room and barged in, not caring for policies.

“Fina, quick! You need to help! They are fighting!”

“Theo calm down.” The woman said, standing up. “What’s going on?”

“Weasley and his friends attacked us.” A little white lie, he thought by himself, they verbally attacked them first. “Quickly, come!” He dragged the two mothers out of the tea-shop towards the fight.

“DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY!”

“BLAISE VALENTINO ZABINI AND HARRY JAMES POTTER!” The two mothers yelled. The three Slytherins froze and the three Gryffindors did as well.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!” Another voice yelled. Theo saw a little, plump woman with red hair walking over, her hands firmly put on her hips. “FIGHTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET AND MAKING A LITTLE GIRL CRY! YOU ARE APPOLOGIZING NOW AND THEN WE LEAVE!”

How did she know about Ella? Theo didn’t have to wonder much longer because a girl with bushy hair followed the red haired woman, carrying little Ella who was eating some ice-cream.

“But mom, I didn’t…” Weasley tried but the glare his mother gave him was enough to shut him up.

“You and your friends are apologizing right now. I don’t want to hear my son makes little girls cry and afterwards fights in the middle of the street. “ Her calm voice was almost scarier than her yelling.

“And the three of you make your apologies as well.” Narcissa said, glancing at the small woman who had to be Mrs. Weasley. “Fighting in the middle of the street, how bad the other their behaviour was, we are above that.” She glared at her son who cowered.

All six boys did as told, although Theo was sure the thing the Slytherins wanted to say was ‘Sorry I didn’t hit you harder’.

“Where is Ella?” Fina asked after the Gryffindors had left. She had counted one and one together, knowing that the crying little girl had to be Ella.

“She’s here.” Hermione quickly darted forwards with the little girl in her arms. Theo could see she had stopped crying but her eyes were still red and puffy. “You really don’t have to be angry with them.” She tried to stick up for her friends. “They only stuck up for her.”

Both Narcissa and Fina looked at the girl before taking over little Ella.

“We won’t punish you.” Narcissa said lastly. “We’ll take Ella with us and you have a good day.” Fina took the little girl out of Hermione’s hands.

“So, do you like your ice-cream darling?” She asked the little girl. The two elder women left with Ella and Theo and Hermione quickly sped towards the three boys.

“That doesn’t look nice.” Hermione muttered, gently stroking Harry’s face. He had some nasty bruises and a black eye.

“How much do I owe you for the ice-cream?” Blaise had approached her and Theo, handing a tissue over to Draco, looked at the two of them.

“You don’t owe me anything.” She said, taking a tissue and giving it to him. “Pinch your nose closed right here. It will stop the bleeding.” She explained, showing it to him. The boy shivered in pain when she gently took his nose.

“Did you see that?” He asked Draco who had a bloody nose himself. “Because I could call her over to show you.” He smirked when he saw the annoyed look on his face.

“I saw it.” The blond grumbled.

“What do you think of some ice-cream? My treat.” Theo proposed.

“Sounds like a good idea.” The others said.

“Just so you know,” Draco said. “I like my ice-cream big.” He poked him in the sigh and walked towards the shop.

He really shouldn’t have teased him with Hermione…


	5. Apparition

The end of summer came too quickly for Harry’s liking. The month he had spent with Blaise, Theo and definitely the last week when Hermione joined them, had been the best time of his life. It was hard for Harry to not be jealous of the warm family his friend had when he thought about the Dursleys and the kind of welcome that was awaiting him. They knew he couldn’t perform magic so that meant he would probably get the beat up of his life. On their last evening at _Il Palazzo Zabini_ Fina prepared a wonderful meal with all their favourite treats and as desert a mouth-watering plum pudding. They ended the evening with a family-game, chosen by Ella, and way too quick it was time for their last mug of hot chocolate before they went to bed.

The next morning it took them a while to get ready. They were up at crack and dawn but it seemed as if the boys had a lot to do. Hermione already had packed all her stuff last night, and she had told them to do the same thing, but the boys were too stubborn to listen and had to do everything the next morning. That’s why they stumbled up the stairs with pieces of toast to get all their stuff in their trunks before they finally could leave. Luckily the elves had helped them because Blaise almost forgot his broom – second years were allowed to have their own brooms – and although he wasn’t planning on getting on the team, yet, he was planning on flying a lot. Theo had almost left his favourite book in the Zabini library and even Harry almost forget his quills and parchment. So if it wasn’t for the elves they had been running late and the glare they received from Hermione told them she wouldn’t have appreciated that. Because they were going to muggle-London they couldn’t take the limo and although Hermione found it very regrettable, she was happy with the SUV as well. Ella was sitting next to the brunette who was reading a fairy-tale to the little girl. Apparently wizards had different bedtime stories and when Hermione found out about that she had brought a muggle storybook with her. After asking Fina if it was alright, she had started to tell the little girl all the stories she and Harry had heard when they were young. Harry had caught Theo several times listening to the stories when Hermione was reading and although Blaise was more sneaky, Harry had noticed him listening closely as well. He just had done it again. Theo and Harry were sitting together with Hermione and Ella and Blaise in the back of the car on a magical increased seat while Fina and the two bodyguards were sitting in the front. Blaise was sitting the furthest to the right, next to little Ella who was slightly squeezed by her cousin and the brunette who was reading out The little match girl, the little girls favourite story. Harry had caught the Italian glancing at the brunette multiple times now and he pulled up a brow at Theo who had noticed the same thing. They didn’t comment on it though, not wanting to embarrass anyone… Or maybe they just didn’t want the wrath of Hermione or Blaise… Harry wasn’t sure about that yet. When they arrived at Kings Cross at last, they had to hurry, being late for their train. A bunch of red hair told Harry they weren’t the only ones. The Weasleys were speeding towards their platform as well. Orion picked Ella up and followed right behind the twins, running through the wall. Fina, Theo and Hermione followed behind Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, leaving Harry, Blaise and Keith alone with Ronald Weasley.

“Oh, don’t mind me.” The ginger muttered, looking at the big man with a tensed look. “You can go first.

Harry and Blaise shrugged their shoulders and ran towards the wall, their luggage in front of them, clashing back hard against the brick wall. Hedwig shrieked angrily when her cage fell of Harry’s trolley.

“Sorry, the trolley got out of control.” He muttered at the muggles who looked at them with an angry scowl on their face. Harry clutched his ribs, they hurt pretty much until Orion muttered a spell and Harry felt the pain go away. Blaise cursed softly while he got up from the ground, gripping his wrist with a painful look. Orion pointed his wand at the boys wrist and healed him as well before he looked at the wall they had ran into.

“What’s going on?” Weasley scowled, looking between the two boys. “Why didn’t you go through it?”

The three students looked at Keith, the only adult left, who was frowning deeply.

“It seems as if someone enchanted the wall to not let anyone through…” Keith muttered, walking forwards. “The three of you, stand back, I’ll try to fix it but I can’t promise much… We probably need a curse breaker for this.” He pulled his wand, making sure no muggles would see what he was doing, and whispered a few spells, his hand resting on the wall to see if he would go through. The loud curse he gave, told them he didn’t. Harry’s eyes went towards the large clock and followed the clock-hand, going towards the 12 too quickly. A loud bang told them it was 11 o’clock and Harry felt his heart shrunk. The train was gone… They couldn’t go to Hogwarts. Blaise face fell too, the realization had struck him at the same time it had struck Harry.

“We’re not going to Hogwarts…” The Italian said shocked. “We missed our train… how in Salazar’s name is this possible?” He hit the wall pretty hard with his fist, letting his anger out.

“Blaise!” Keith said sternly. “Not going to Hogwarts is rubbish. Your mother and I will side-apparate with the two of you…” His eyes went to the ginger. “Your parents probably take you and otherwise you can go with us. It’s not such a big deal…”

“If we can’t get through the wall this way, my parents can’t get back!” The ginger screamed. “I’m going with the car.”

The three of them looked at the ginger walking away, frowning deeply.

“With… the car?” Blaise and Harry said at the same time.

“I’m wondering if that kid knows Hogwarts is situated in Scotland…” Keith muttered.

It took the adults ten minutes to get away from platform 9 ¾ , the Weasleys being one of the first to come out, followed by Orion, Fina and Keith. The last three quickly came towards Harry and Blaise, followed by Mrs. Weasley when she noticed their son was nowhere near the entrance.

“Did you see Ron?” She asked concerned.

“The little ginger kid?” Orion asked. “He said he was taking the car to school.”

“We told him he could side-apparate with us but I think he didn’t trust us, being Slytherins.” Blaise answered, giving Harry a wicked smirk when the adults weren’t looking. The boy snickered a bit, that remark would earn him an angry letter at least. He knew Mrs. Weasley wasn’t one for house-prejudice as the twins liked Harry a lot.

“I’m sorry our son was so rude to you.” She said, looking at her husband with a small scowl. “We’ll go and see if he’s waiting at the car. Thank you boys.”

When the Weasleys had left, Fina looked at the two boy, carrying Ella in her arms.

“I guess Keith is right and that we have to side-apparate.” She said, frowning a bit. “We have to go through Hogsmeade … Dumbledore and his wards don’t allow us to apparate into Hogwarts.” She said thoughtfully. “Orion, you take Ella home, I need to have a word with Severus anyway.” The Italian woman said, handing Ella over to the giant. The little girl gave her aunt a sad look but didn’t argue. She linked her arms around Orion’s neck and gave her cousin and Harry a last smile before she took off with the body guard.

“Alright, follow me.” Keith said, motioning for the boys to follow him through the wall that allowed them to get through easily now. Harry frowned but didn’t comment on it.

“What’s apparating?” He asked Blaise.

“ It’s like teleporting… but wizards don’t call it that.” Blaise chuckled.

“Oh.” Harry said relieved.

“You can go with me, Harry darling.” Fina said, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. “Blaise did this before so he can go with Keith.” Her son walked over to the giant and put his hand on his arm, giving him a small glare.

“You better be nice to me. I remember last time I apparated with Keith.” Blaise said to Harry. “My mother is better in this.”

He only had spoken his last words or the two of them disappeared with a small plop. Harry’s eyes went big and he looked up at Fina.

“It’s really easy. You just need to go along with me.” She grabbed his shoulder a bit firmer and suddenly it felt as if Harry’s abandons wanted to get on the outside. It felt as if he was fluing again and he was afraid of how this would end, remembering the sad end for his food back then. Suddenly he felt hard ground under his feet again and he felt as if he could kiss it.

“If we ever miss the train again, we’ll take the broom.” He muttered. Blaise snickered at that comment and shrugged his shoulders.

“Fine by me.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. “Although I prefer the train though.”

Both Harry and Blaise watched around themselves, taking in the village. It seemed to be very cosy with a lot of shops. It reminded Harry a bit of Diagon Alley.

“Are you ready to go, boys? Severus is waiting for us at the gate.” Fina walked over to the boys and Harry was surprised to see Orion had left. “Orion is getting your luggage.” She explained. “Now, come on. It’s still a short walk to the castle.” Harry and Blaise followed the woman, looking at everything they could see. You were only allowed into Hogsmeade from your third year so they had to wait for over a year. It was a walk from 10 minutes and as Fina said their head of house was waiting for them at the gates.

“Fina Zabini, always a pleasure to see you…” His eyes darted over towards Harry and Blaise. “So, why are two of my students here and not on the train where they should be?” His eyes rested on Harry and the boy shuffled uneasily.

“Oh, they couldn’t get through the wall. Someone should look at that.” Fina said, shrugging her shoulders. “You boys should go to the great hall already and wait for the others. Me and Severus need to catch up.”

Harry and Blaise walked over towards the school and walked through the big doors at the entrance, being welcomed by professor McGonagall.

“Ah, mister Potter and mister Zabini.” She greeted them. “Professor Snape informed me you would be earlier. Now, the others will only be here in an hour or so I would say you can join me and the other professors.” The woman gave them a rare smile and they followed her towards the great hall. The two boys felt a bit uneasy and looked up at the head table, while they followed the head of Gryffindor. A low moan escaped Blaise mouth when he noticed who was sitting over there and Harry almost froze. Great… Lockhart was there as well. A soft snicker sounded and both Blaise and Harry would swear it was McGonagall who did so.

“Ah, Harry!” Lockhart spoke up. “Seriously boy… Fame shouldn’t get to your head. Nothing is wrong with taking the train. All that attention seeking isn’t healthy. And I’m sure your friends don’t like it at all.”

Harry scowled at that and poked Blaise who shook his head, trying to keep a serious face.

“I’m sure mister Potter wasn’t intending on missing his train.” McGonagall defended him. “He merely had bad luck.”

“Are you ready to start classes again, boys?” Professor Flitwick asked the two boys with a beaming smile. “I’m hoping you will be as good as last year.”

“We’ll do what we can, Professor.” Blaise said with a small smile.

They kept talking with the professors who informed them about what they were going to do the next year and quicker than they expected, the two boys were joined by their schoolmates in the hall. They left their professors and walked towards the door where they waited for their friends.

“There you are!” Hermione flung herself around Harry’s neck and the boy barely caught her. “I was so worried! What happened?”

“That’s something I want to know as well.” Theo had followed the girl but didn’t flung himself around the two boys, keeping his dignity intact.

“Glad to know you were worried about the two of us…” Blaise drawled sarcastically. The girl looked at the Italian and frowned.

“Why should I be worried for you? I’m pretty sure you are the one with a bodyguard. You know, Keith… He has as duty protecting you above all… Even if he has to let Harry die.”

“Well… glad to know you’re so optimistic.” Harry muttered. “We couldn’t get through the wall and Weasley was with us so we suggested he could apparate with us but he rather took the car.”

“To Scotland?” Theo asked frowning.

“We probably won’t see him at dinner.” Hermione said.

“Weasley won’t die because he misses one meal.” Blaise said shrugging.

“If you’re talking about our little brother.”

“You could be mistaken.” The Weasley twins had approached them and gave Harry and Blaise a wide smile.

“Our dearest brother needs his food at the right time.”

“Hey Fred, George.” Hermione greeted them.

“Hello, our dearest Hermione.” They greeted back. “Long time no seen.”

“Can we escort you to our table?”

“That would be lovely, Fred.” The girl chuckled. “See you later, guys.”

The three Slytherins walked over to their own table and sat themselves down. Kali, Devon and Diana joined them a moment later, the first having a small pin on her chest with the letter H on it.

“Guess who made it head girl.” Devon said proudly, petting his sister on her head. The girl scowled at his gesture and glared at the boy before smiling at the three second year.

“Congratulations.” The three of them said.

“Second head girl in our family.” Devon beamed. “Granny Hope would be proud of you.”

“So, who’s head boy?” Malfoy had sat himself down next to Blaise and looked at the blonde. “Congratulations btw.”

“Some Ravenclaw.” Diana answered for her friend.

“James Braden.” Kali gave them the name. “He’s alright for a Ravenclaw. But I don’t like his girlfriend. Iris Amber, she’s such a Gryffindor bitch.” The girl scowled.

“She’s prefect herself and has complained with Dumbledore and the whole staff that they made a Slytherin head girl.” Diana spoke. Devon scowled and even the second years scrunched their nose.

“Oh… They’re just hurt in their pride because a Slytherin beat their Gryffindor Princess.” Malfoy scowled.

“They’re so short-sighted and prejudiced.” Blaise growled.

“People who don’t fit in their box are evil.” Theo grumbled.

“And they dare to say we are prejudiced. At least we come out for our thoughts.” Kali muttered.

“Not all Gryffindors think like that.” Harry muttered. All eyes were on him but before anyone could disagree, Kali spoke up again.

“No, that’s true.” She muttered. “I guess your friend, miss Granger and some other Gryffindors like the twins are alright…”

“But that doesn’t mean the houses aren’t corrupted.” Diana sighed.

“We all know they conspire against us.” Devon said with a grim look.

“And still we won the house cup.” Harry said optimistic. “And we beat them in Quidditch. Something we won’t stop doing!”

“We have the best seeker Hogwarts ever has seen.” Devon agreed.

“And awesome chasers.” Pucey had joined them, sitting next to Diana and smirked. “Although we do need to find a new chaser this year.” His eyes travelled to Kali who sighed.

“I really can’t keep playing.” She gave him a small pout. “Being head girl and chaser and Newts is too much.”

They couldn’t answer on that, because Dumbledore asked to be silent and brought their attention to the first years who would be sorted. A dot bright, red hair caught Harry’s attention the moment she entered the Great Hall and he followed her with his eyes.

“Someone caught your attention, Harry?” Daphne Greengrass, a year mate of him, asked amused.

“I just recognized someone.” He said with a small smile towards the girl. “Ginny is being sorted today.” He looked back at the girl.

“Yeah, my sister is being sorted too.” Daphne said.

“Oh yeah, Astoria is getting to Hogwarts this year as well.” Blaise said with a bright smile.

“Which house do you think she will end in?” Malfoy asked.

“I don’t know.” Daphne shrugged her shoulders.

“It probably will be Slytherin.” Her friend Pansy Parkinson said. “You are a Slytherin family.”

“A Slytherin family?” Harry asked confused.

“Yeah, you know like the Weasley’s are a Gryffindor family.” Theo explained. The blank face Harry gave him made the boy explain more. “You know how the hat choose which house you are placed in, right?” Harry nodded. “Well, some families are pretty sure before they are sorted in which house they belong because their family has been in the same house for generations.”

“Like the Malfoys.” Blaise said, giving his friend a smirk. “If Draco hadn’t ended up in Slytherin there would be something very wrong with him.”

“My whole family ended up in this house and always married someone out of this house. Grandad married the head girl from Slytherin, dad met mom in here… Our whole family is a Slytherin family.”

“Like the Weasleys always are a Gryffindor family.” Theo said brightly.

“I only know two Weasleys who didn’t end up inn Gryffindor and they died tragically.” Kali said with a said sigh.

“And my family is a Slytherin family as well.” Daphne said with a shrug. “But now and then we end up in Ravenclaw too.”

“I’m actually surprised you did end up in Slytherin…” Devon said thoughtfully. “Your family is a Gryffindor family after all.”

“Really?” Harry asked surprised.

“No, Devon is just a joker…” Diana drawled sarcastically. “Of course he was serious. The Potters are famous for being Gryffindors and your mother was a Gryffindor too.”

“So it’s highly unusual you ended up with us.” Blaise said amused.

The loud cheering of one of the tables caught there attention.

“Oh … we missed the first one.” Kali said.

“It was just a Hufflepuff.” Malfoy said shrugging.

They followed the sorting with a bit more interest, Avery Juliette was the first one to be sorted into Slytherin. She was a small girl with bluish black hair. A boy with a camera around his neck caught Harry’s attention as well. He was so visible a muggleborn he was surprised his house mates didn’t comment on it. Collin Creevy ended in Gryffindor. Harry watched some more people being sorted into Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and one more into Gryffindor, Laurie Amber, and in Slytherin 2 more students, Flores Ellie, a girl with long hair that was a tad darker then the Weasleys and Garcia Mason, a boy with an Olive skin like Blaise and brown curls, before they came to Greengrass Astoria, Daphne’s sister. Astoria looked a lot like her sister, even though her hair was long and dark instead of the platina blonde her sister had, and bright lilac orbs stared at the hall and not Daphne’s sapphire blue.  The hat took his time – twenty seconds – before he yelled:

“RAVENCLAW!”

“What?” Pansy shrieked surprised.

“Oh yes!” Daphne said, clapping as loud as the Ravenclaws. “I don’t need to share my house.” The girl beamed. “Or my stuff for the matter.”

“Well… at least she didn’t end up in Gryffindor…” Pansy muttered, not complaining anymore because her friend seemed to be happy with the hat’s decision.

The sorting went further but Harry wasn’t really interested in it that much. He only paid attention so he wouldn’t miss Ginny’s sorting. Although… That was what he was thinking until a girl with long, platina blond hair entered the podium. Lovegood Luna Harry caught his attention and he didn’t know why, but it was probably what caught all their attention.

“I really hope she ends up in Slytherin.” He heard Blaise or Malfoy mutter. The hat took his time with her as well, it reminded Harry of his own sorting, and he kept a close eye on the girl.

“RAVENCLAW!” The hat yelled.

The Slytherins groaned together and saw the girl take off to the blue and bronze table.

“I’ll put Astoria on her.” Daphne muttered. “Lovegood seems interesting.” All of them agreed.

The sorting ended with Ginny Weasley who got sorted into Gryffindor as expected. Her brothers cheering loudest of all. 


	6. Gilderoy Lockhart

The next morning the Slytherins could enjoy quite a show. When Harry, Theo and Blaise entered the great hall, Hermione had already been sitting at the Gryffindor table and gave them a small wave before she looked back at her book.

“She’s not reading one of Lockhart’s books, right?” Blaise grumbled.

“She hasn’t read anything else after we came back from Diagon Alley… except for the fairy tales I guess.” Theo muttered.

“I don’t get it. I read one passage because she seemed to like it so much but it was only about Lockhart.” Blaise muttered, sitting down and pouring himself some tea.

“You read the book because Hermione liked it?” Harry pulled up a brow at the Italian.

“No I didn’t.” He replied dryly. “I read it because I was curious when I saw she liked it.”

“So you’ve read it because of Hermione.” Theo said smirking. He took some cereals and poured milk all over it, ignoring the glare Blaise gave him.

Harry let his eyes slide over the Great Hall and three boys caught his eyes.

“Look… Weasley did arrive at last.” He muttered, getting the attention of his two friends.

“Just in time for the mail.” Theo said, looking at the owls that arrived. To Harry’s surprise Hedwig was among them and landed on Blaise shoulder. The boy pulled up a brow but gave the owl something to eat.

“I think she missed you because there’s no mail with her.” He took a bite from his toast before giving the owl another piece of bread.

“Or she missed you.” Harry said dryly, piling some scrambled eggs and bacon on his plate. “She is sitting on your shoulder.”

A roar of sound filled the Great Hall and all heads turned around towards the Gryffindor-table. While all the others tried to decide where the sound came from Harry and his friends knew that only one person could have done something very stupid, and that was Weasley.  Hearing Mrs. Weasley yell through the whole hall made even Harry scrunch his nose a bit. She was terrifying.

“AND IGNORING A NICE GESTURE FROM THOSE NICE BOYS BECAUSE THEY ARE SLYTHERINS!!!! I DIDN’T RAISE YOU TO BE SO NASTY!!! IF YOU PUT ONE MORE TOE OUT OF LINE YOUR FATHER AND I WILL DRAG YOU BACK HOME!!!”

“I guess his mother wasn’t very fond of him stealing the car and driving over here.” Blaise snickered.

“Oh, but he didn’t drive here.” Hermione had walked over to the Slytherin table, her timetable in her hand. “Apparently he flew over here with his dad’s Ford Angelica and crashed into the Whomping Willow.”

“Of all trees he could crash into, he choose the only one that could hit back.” Theo chuckled.

“Miss Granger, aren’t you supposed to be getting your timetable at your own table?” Snape had appeared behind the girl without any of them noticing.

“Oh, she’s welcome at our table, professor.” Daphne Greengrass, who had been sitting next to Blaise answered. “She’s telling us a wonderful story.”

“Oh really?” Snape asked, pulling up a brow. “It seems you made yourself beloved in my house, miss Granger.” He handed Harry, Blaise and Theo their time tables and walked over towards Malfoy and his gang.

“So, what’s your first lesson?” Hermione asked after giving Daphne a small smile. The girl gave her a smile back and her answer.

“History of magic with the Ravenclaws.” She answered. “That and Herbology are the only things we haven’t together with you guys.”

“Yeah… we have those with Hufflepuff.” Hermione muttered, looking over Theo’s shoulder.

“Maybe you can help me with transfigurations sometimes.” Daphne said with a bright smile. Hermione looked up at her, surprised. “I’m not that good, D.A.D.A. is more my subject.” She said amused.

“If you want me too, I will. You can always join Theo and me when we are studying.” She said brightly, not noticing the surprised look Theo gave the girl.

“Oh, so Harry and I aren’t counted in this year, Granger?” Blaise asked, pulling up a brow at the girl.

“Oh..” She seemed surprised for a moment. “I thought you didn’t like studying with us.”

“I don’t like studying.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But I guess it would be bearable with two lovely ladies.” He smirked.

“You better be referring to Daphne and Hermione.” Theo grumbled at the Italian. The boy just smirked and took another bite of his toast.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

When Hermione walked away from the Slytherin table she was still surprised about Daphne’s offer. It was the first time the girl ever had said something to her.

“Hello Hermione.” The girl looked up and saw Neville standing next to her. The plump boy was smiling brightly at her. “Do you look forward to Herbology?”

“I guess so. I’m curious about what we are going to learn.” She answered.

“Professor Sprout said something about Mandragoras.” Neville answered. Hermione searched through her brain to find everything she knew about those plants and smiled. That would be interesting.

“That will be very interesting.” She answered smiling.

“I think so as well.” He said happily.

“Greenhouse three today, chaps!” Professor Sprout yelled, her arms full of bandages. She was accompanied by professor Lockhart and Hermione felt a blush coming onto her cheeks. He was wearing sweeping robes of turquoise, his golden hair shining under a neatly placed turquoise hat. Apparently he had been helping Professor Sprout with taking care of the Whomping Willow. He was such a talented wizard! 

Hermione followed the others inside, noticing twenty colourful earmuffs laying across the table. She stopped next to Neville and Hannah Abbot, a Hufflepuff girl with blond hair.

“Today we will be repotting Mandragoras. Who can tell me what’s so special about them?” Professor Sprout asked.

Hermione’s hand shot up in the air, almost hitting Neville in the face. She knew the answer!

“Yes miss Granger?” The woman gave her a small smile, brightening up her face.

“Mandrake or Mandragora is a powerful restorative.” She said confident. “It’s used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed, to their original state.”

While Professor Sprout earned Gryffindor 10 points Hermione couldn’t help herself from hearing Ronald and Seamus snicker.

“Of course she knows the answer. Like she did anything nice this summer.” Ronald said, hard enough for Hermione to hear but soft enough so Sprout wouldn’t notice he was talking.

“She probably had her nose in her books all summer.” Seamus joined in.

Hermione tried to ignore the two boys and brought her attention back to the Professor who just asked them something.

“It is also, however, extremely dangerous. Who can tell me why?” Glad she had listened, the girl let her hand shot in the air back again. Sprout gave her the word again.

“The scream of the Mandrake is lethal for everyone who hears it.” She said promptly.

“Very good.” Sprout said proudly. “Take another ten points.”

Hermione smiled at Neville who gave her thumbs up.

“We’re so gonna win from Slytherin this year.” He beamed. The girl chuckled and shook her head. All those house rivalry was rubbish according to her. Her best friends were in Slytherin and they were better than some Gryffindors she knew… But then again… Malfoy was worse than most known Gryffindors. Hermione shuffled forwards with the others when Sprout indicated they were potting very young Mandrakes. About a hundred tufty, little plants. They had a purplish green colour and were growing in rows. Hermione took a pair of green earmuffs and put them on when Sprout showed them how to pot those Mandrakes. Afterwards she listened while Sprout explained why they had to put them on – although those Mandrakes weren’t old enough to kill, their scream could knock them out – and that they were going to work in groups. Hermione and Neville were joined by Hannah Abbot and Zacharias Smith.

“Hello there.” Hannah greeted. “I’m Hannah Abbot and you’re Hermione Granger right? The girl that knows everything.” Hermione blushed while she shook her hand. “And you are Neville Longbottom right? You’re the reason Slytherin didn’t win last year!”

“Those brats didn’t lose either.” Smith said annoyed. “They have won eight years in a row now, they just had to share their first spot with you guys.” He said, swiping his dirty blond hair out of his face. “Don’t know if that was such a blessing. I heard you were friends with those snakes.” He looked at her earmuffs. “You’re even wearing their colour. Such a proud Gryffindor.”

“Leave her alone, Smith.” Neville said, sticking up for Hermione. “You know Harry Potter is in Slytherin as well, right?”

“If the boy-who-lived is a Slytherin they can’t be that bad, right?” Hannah said with a small smile. “And Hermione is smart enough to choose her own friends.”

With that their talk was over because Sprout told them to start working and although she had made it look easy, they quickly discovered those Mandrakes didn’t wanted to work with them, although Neville quickly found his way to do it rather smoothly. By the end of class Hermione, like everyone else, was very sweaty and had dirt all over her. She had anticipated on it, remembering their lessons from first year, and had learned a cleaning spell for her clothes already. She quickly got into the first bathroom she passed and noticed surprised that it was empty. She quickly cleaned her face and muttered the cleaning spell. When she looked back in the mirror she shrieked. It wasn’t her reflection that looked back but a pale girl with big, jam-pot glasses

“Who are you?” She asked surprised.

“You don’t know my name?” The girl asked with a whining voice. “Everyone knows my  name. Moaning Myrtle. Moaning, ugly Myrtle!”

Hermione looked surprised at the girl.

“You’re not ugly.” She said frowning. “But I actually really need to go to my class.”

“Oh of course. Like someone would want to stay with me!” she started to sob, but Hermione really was late for class and had to excuse herself again, quickly picking up her bag before she ran towards her classroom, bumping into Zabini.

“Look who’s here.” He said amused. “Good day to you to.”

“Oh… Sorry.” She muttered blushing. “I thought I would be too late.”

“Now, that’s something we couldn’t have, right?” Theo said entertained. He chuckled when he noticed the glare Hermione was giving him.

“So, how was Herbology?” Harry asked, noticing the tension rising.

“Oh, it was alright.” She said, shrugging her shoulders. “We had to pot Mandrakes and they weren’t really glad for that.” She muttered. “Neville was good at it though.”

“Longbottom is good at something?” Zabini snickered. But didn’t comment on it, noticing the Gryffindors arriving.  “Ready for transfiguration?”

“Yeah, I reread my books from first year and read my book from second as well, already.” Hermione beamed enthusiast. Then she noticed what she just had said and turned a bright shade of red. They probably would think she was a bookworm and a nerd!

“Well, someone is prepared.” Zabini chuckled. “You don’t mind me sitting next to you, right?”

“I should have read ahead as well…” Theo said softly. “Salazar, Hermione! Why didn’t you say something earlier!” He groaned softly and gave a little pout, making Hermione chuckle.

“Of course you can sit next to me.” She gave Blaise a small smile. “And everything will be alright, Theo. You probably have finished the book by tomorrow.”

“You bet.” He said chuckling.

“Why are my friends so bloody smart!” Harry said pouting.

“Because they do something for school instead of playing for bloody Gryffindor.” Daphne popped up next to Hermione, startling the girl a bit. “No offence.” She said to her.

“No offence taken.” Hermione said shrugging.

McGonagall arrived and let everyone in. Harry sighed slightly. McGonagall’s classes were always hard but this one was in particularly. Everything he had learned last year seemed to be forgotten. They had to turn a beetle into a button and while Harry was cursing under his breath, Hermione and Theo had managed to turn two beetles in buttons already – earning five points each. Lucky for Harry and Blaise they decided to help them so at the end of class their beetles were buttons as well. Hermione also managed to help Daphne and Tracy with theirs, earning another five points from McGonagall. Luckily, because Weasley’s fumbling almost cost Gryffindor the same amount of points. Apparently his wand had been broken when he crashed into the Whomping Willow and didn’t want to do anything except releasing a dark smoke smelling like a dozen of rotten eggs. When the bell for lunch finally sounded through the castle, Harry almost cheered. Hermione had a handful of buttons with her and smirked at Theo.

“Next time better.”

“I’ll beat you sometime, Hermione Granger. That’s a promise.” He said amused.

“Do you want to join us during dinner, Hermione?” Daphne asked. “You really helped me out with that spell.”

“Oh… I don’t know.” The girl looked at her friends who shrugged.

“You can join anytime, Granger.” Blaise said dryly. “It’s not as if you need our permission.”

“She kinda does.” Daphne said dryly. “It’s not her table you know and you’re her friends.

“If you were waiting for our permission, it’s granted.” Harry said smiling.

“Join us whenever you want.” Theo chuckled.

“Well, let’s go girl.” Daphne hooked her arms in Hermione’s and pulled her towards the Great Hall, together with Tracy.

The boys followed shortly after and sat down next to the girls, digging in their food immediately. It was only their first day but the Harry was dreading for the holiday again. While he piled his plate with bread and cheese, he let his eyes wander towards Hermione and Daphne who seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“Hello, Hermione.” Kali sat down next to Blaise and smiled at the Gryffindor. “I see you finally met a nice Slytherin girl.”

“Well, she did meet us already.” Diana said amused.

“Yeah, that’s why she said she finally met nice girls, Di.” Devon chuckled, sitting next to the elder girl.

“Hello.” Hermione greeted shyly. “Congratulations with making it head-girl.”

“Thank you dear.” Kali beamed.

“What is _she_ doing here?” Harry tensed up when he heard Malfoy’s annoyed voice.

“I invited her at our table of course.” Daphne said unimpressed by the blonds scowl.

“Why would you invite the mudblood to _our_ table, Greengrass?” He growled, making Crabbe and Goyle crack their knuckles in a threatening matter.

“If he’s so bothered by it, I can leave.” Hermione said timidly, not enjoying the attention Malfoy’s raid was causing.

“Nah, Granger.” Blaise said, standing up as well, probably having noticed the dangerous look Kali was sending towards Malfoy. “I’ll join Drake a bit further at the table.” He gave his friend a stern look. “That way the two of you aren’t bothering each other.” He grabbed the blond’s arm and pulled him with him in the other direction.

“Don’t mind him, Hermione.” Daphne and Theo said at the same time, making the girl cheer up a bit.

“He doesn’t know any better.” Theo tried to explain. “His father is really biased towards muggles and everything and everyone having the slightest thing to do with them.”

“His father may be biased, but he’s as well.” Daphne muttered.

“You shouldn’t underestimate the role of your parents and upbringing, Daphne.” Kali said coolly. “The Malfoys haven’t had such good history with muggles.”

“The Knights haven’t either, Kali.” Diana said dryly. “But you are nice to Hermione.”

“She proved herself to be a loyal friend.”  Devon answered instead of his sister. Harry followed their exchanges with quite some interest.

“What did you mean when you said they had a bad history with muggles?” Hermione asked frowning.

“They killed someone our families cared deeply for.” Theo answered grimly.

There was an awkward silence and Harry noticed Hermione bowing her head in defeat.

“Hey, don’t be sad. Theo didn’t mean anything with that.” Daphne tried to  cheer the girl up again. Theo, who noticed what he had done, softened immediately and smiled at her.

“Hermione, please. You should know better than thinking I’m that biased. Am I a blond, spoiled kid or a sexy nerd.” He joked.

“Well, a nerd is something you certainly are.” Devon patted the boys head, earning himself a scowl.

“So, what do we have next?” Harry asked, trying to change the subject.

“Defence against the dark arts.” Hermione, Daphne and Tracy answered together, giggling slightly. Theo frowned at that and pulled Hermione’s time-table away from her.

“Why do you have Lockhart’s name outlined in hearts?” He asked frowning.

“The same reason we have.” Daphne answered with a wink. “He’s handsome.”

Harry could swear he heard Devon mumbling something about puking, but he was thinking along the same lines so he just kept his mouth shut, looking back down at his full plate and rediscovering his hunger.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

After they finished lunch, they decided to go outside towards the courtyard. Daphne and Tracy said their goodbye, joining Pansy and Millicent, leaving Hermione and the boys alone again. Blaise joined them just at the moment Hermione had pulled out her book _Voyageurs with Vampires._ She greeted him with a small smile before focussing back on her book. Blaise sat down next to Theo who had his transfiguration book open.

“What are you doing?” The Italian asked, pulling up a brow at his friend.

“I’m making sure I can win from our dear Hermione sometime.” The boy answered, ruffling his hand through his short, brown hair. “But I have a lot catching up to do, so excuse me.” He looked back at his book, ignoring Blaise and Harry’s chuckling.

They were just seated there in the sun for about five minutes when Blaise snickered.

“I think you’ve got yourself a fan, Harry.” He smugly said.

Harry turned around and saw the boy he had noticed last night during the sorting staring at him, his muggle camera in his hand. The moment the boy noticed him staring, he went a bright shade of red.

“He – Hello there, Harry. I’m Coll – Collin Creevy. I’m in Gryffindor. Do you think – I mean – is it alright if I take a picture with you?” The boy raised his camera as if to make it clear for him.

“A picture?” Harry asked confused, making Blaise snicker again.

“Yes! So I can prove I met you. I know everything about you. They told me everything about you. How you defeated You-know-who and that you have a scar in the form of a lightning bolt because of that.” His eyes darted towards Harry’s hairline. “And some boys in my house even say that if I do it right I can make the photo move! How awesome is that! I didn’t know of magic before we got the letter.” The boy explained enthusiastic. “Maybe your friends can take the photo so I can be on it together with you.”

Blaise pulled a face at that and looked at Hermione.

“Ask Granger. I don’t make pictures I’m not in.” He joked. Hermione looked up from her book and glared at Blaise before standing up.

“Of course I want to make a picture.”

“Awesome!” The boy cheered. “And maybe you can sign him as well.”

“Signed photo’s?” Weasley and his friends walked over towards the Slytherins and the first year. “Creevy you can’t be serious you want a signed photo from the bloody Slytherin!”

“You’re just jealous no one wants a signed photo from you.” The little boy spat back. Harry could tell why he had ended up in Gryffindor.

“Jealous? Of the pathetic Slytherin?” Weasley snickered.

“To be honest, I don’t see how a cracked head is that special.” Finnegan added, high fiving Weasley and Thomas.

“What’s your problem. Just leave them alone.” Hermione grumbled annoyed.

“No one asked your opinion, traitor.” Finnegan spat at her. “Maybe you can get a signed photo as well.”

“She probably has one already, being the Slytherins groupie.” Thomas snickered.

Hermione went a bright shade of red and glared daggers at her three housemates.

“Leave her alone, Weasley!” Theo spat angrily.

“Oh, and Granger has some groupies herself.” Weasley snickered. “I always knew the two of you would fit very well together.”

“Nerds always find each other.” Finnegan said. “And so does scum.”

“So we see.” Blaise grumbled, eying the three Gryffindors up.

“Maybe you could make more than one picture, Creevy. I think all those pathetic _friends_ of Potter want a signed one.” Weasley said, ignoring the Italians retort.

Both Theo and Blaise pulled out their wands and Harry was grabbing his as well when Hermione hissed a warning.

“What’s going on? Did I hear someone mentioning signed photos?” Lockhart walked over to the small group, his turquoise robes swirling behind him. “I shouldn’t have asked. Harry, we meet again.”

Pinned to Lockhart’s side and burning in humiliation Harry saw Weasley and his friends slide back in the newly formed crowed, laughing silently and high fiving each other.

“Now, what would you say of a double picture, Mr. Creevy?” Lockhart asked. “And we both sign him.”

“Collin actually wanted on the photo himself, Professor.” Blaise said with a straight face. Harry noticed Hermione frown deeply at the Italians _taunting_.

“Oh… Oh, of course boy. Well I guess you could join us. Someone else can make the picture.” He said thoughtfully and a bit annoyed. Hermione nor Collin seemed to notice as the boy quickly joined them and Hermione snapped a picture of them without the slightest hint of annoyance.

“After you developed the photo you can come to me to sign it boy.” Lockhart said before pulling Harry with him into the castle. The boy gave a desperate look at his friends but Hermione seemed to envy him and Blaise seemed to be annoyed with Hermione’s admiration for the twat while Theo didn’t even notice Harry’s distress because he was gathering their stuff. “You’re very lucky I came along, Harry.” Lockhart spoke. “I mean, handing out signed pictures in this stage of your career might seem to be self-conceited. I know you are known amongst your schoolmates and probably outside of Hogwarts some people heard of your name as well but you aren’t as popular as me yet.” His professor gave him a bright smile, showing of his bleached teeth. “When you are at my point of career you need to carry a stack of photo’s just for this kind of moments.”

Finally they reached the classroom and Harry quickly freed himself from Lockhart, sitting down at the back row and trying to conjure a big hole so he could be swallowed by it.

“Well, that was embarrassing.” Theo said the moment he sat down next to Harry.

“I hope Creevy doesn’t find the little Weaslette or they might start a fan club.” Blaise snickered.

“Shut up!” Harry groaned, putting his books in front of him so he was out of view. The hole didn’t want to be conjured and the last thing he wanted was for Lockhart to hear about a fan club.

“Cheer up, Harry.” Hermione said dryly. “You can ask Collin for a copy of that picture. You know what a hero Lockhart is.” Hermione said, her eyes being pulled back towards Lockhart and a small sigh leaving her lips.

“You’ve got to be bloody kidding me.” Blaise grumbled annoyed. “Kill me if I have to hear once more how fabulatastic Lockhart is.” He glared at Hermione. “I should’ve thought you were smarter Granger. I now officially lost all hope for women on this world.”

With those dramatic words being said Lockhart decided to start the class giving out a quiz… about himself. Harry decided to wish for Lockhart to disappear instead when he read all 64 questions about Lockhart’s favourite colour and his best birthday gift. What kind of questions where that? And what did they have to do with defence against the dark arts? Half an hour later when Lockhart decided that they had enough time to fill in the quiz, Harry handed him a blank quiz over and didn’t even care to listen to the answers anymore. Both Theo and Blaise were trying to keep their snickers hidden and they succeeded better than Finnegan and Thomas who were shaking with silent laughter. He let his eyes travel to Hermione and shook his head when he noticed how much attention she was paying Lockhart. Harry only started to pay attention again when Lockhart asked Hermione to make herself known and earned her and Gryffindor 10 points.

“What do you think is in the cage?” Blaise asked quietly, looking at the covered cage that was now standing on Lockhart’s desk while he gave an introduction how it was his duty to learn them how to defend themselves against the dark arts.

“Yes.” Lockhart said as he pulled off the blanket. “Freshly caught Cornish pixies.”

Finnegan couldn’t contain himself any longer and lucky for Blaise – who let a snort escape his lips – Finnegan laughed louder and caught Lockhart’s attention. Even he couldn’t think of it as anything else than laughing.

“Yes?” He said, narrowing his eyes at the boy.

“Well…. They’re not really dangerous, right?” The Gryffindor spoke.

Harry tried to get a closer look at the pixies and the bluish little creatures didn’t remind him in the least of the pixies he had heard about in fairy-tales. They were like little old men but then blue and they had voices so high it gave Harry a huge headache. The only thing they were doing was making a lot of noise and pulling weird faces at them. To be honest, Harry was disappointed.

“I would watch my mouth, Mister?”

“Finnegan.” The boy said sheepishly.

“Mister Finnegan. They are very nasty, devilish things.” Lockhart walked over towards the cage and Harry saw Blaise and Theo pale.

“He’s not going to…” Theo started, sighing loudly when Lockhart opened the cage. “Salazar that guy is stupid.” He muttered when the pixies shot out at all directions. Harry heard Blaise snicker and it took him a moment to notice why. Two of the tiny creatures had seized Neville up by the ears, lifting him up in the air.

“Why does it always have to be me!” The plump boy wined.

“Shouldn’t we do something?” Harry yelled to get over the noise while he ducked several pixies who went straight through the windows, showering Harry and the others in broken glass.

“Nah, Lockhart is the teacher.” Blaise said, ducking for some other pixies who started to throw with pictures and destroyed the classroom more effectively than a rampaging rhino. Ink bottles, backpacks and several rolls of parchment flew through the air before Lockhart decided to cast a spell… That failed miserably. He quickly ducked under his table, right in time to make sure Neville wouldn’t land on him when the boy came down from the air. Right at that moment, the bell rang and there was a huge rush towards the door. Lockhart being amongst them and looking over his shoulder at Harry and the others.

“You can clean the mess up right?” He said, not waiting for an answer before he left the room.

“Can you believe that twat?” Malfoy grumbled, he had been right after Lockhart and was now forced to help them clean up.

“I really don’t know how he made it to teacher.” Theo grumbled, grabbing a pixie that was biting painfully in his ear.

“He just wants to give us some hands-on experience.” Hermione tried to defend their teacher while she stopped two pixies at once with a handy freeze charm.

“Yeah, he believes in us.” Daphne added.

“Bullocks.” Blaise said, mumbling something under his breath, making a pixie fly right in the cage.

“Did you just use dark magic, Zabini?” Hermione spat angrily. She looked at the Italian in front of her who had his wand pulled out, aiming it at another of the nasty creatures.

“So what if I did.” Blaise grumbled, glaring at the girl over his shoulder. “I merely stopped it from attacking us.”

“Dark magic is forbidden.” She spat at him, casting a light spell that stopped them all at once. “And with a reason.”

“Do you even know the reason behind it?” Blaise growled annoyed. “Dark magic is forbidden because muggleborns like you were afraid of it.”

Harry and Theo approached the two of them, ready to break the fight off if it would escalate but Malfoy and Daphne stopped them.

“It’s good for you as well to hear this story, Potter.” Malfoy spoke softly.

“Muggleborns like me?!” Hermione growled. “And what do you mean by that, Zabini?”

“I mean that it were the light wizards that banned the dark magic because they and the muggleborns were afraid of its power.” Blaise turned around, being very annoyed as if the Gryffindor was asking stupid questions. “Dark magic isn’t evil like all you light twats believe. You can do things as evil with Light magic as with Dark magic. And you know what is even worse? Muggles have killed wizards for ages and you are surprised purebloods are so against them and everything that has to do with it? Muggleborns demanded their religions and customs would become part of the wizarding culture and our cultures that they thought of being evil and wrong was mostly banned. Like blood-magic and soul-binding for example.”

“But that’s pure evil! Blood-magic and Soul-binding are forbidden because it was used to take peoples will away and make them do the worst things. How can you call that not evil?” Hermione asked shocked.

“Because it was used for our marriages, you idiotic mudblood.” The moment he said it his face went all pale and it seemed as if he wanted to apology. Hermione didn’t gave him the chance though. She looked at him with a hurt expression, tears forming in her eyes, before she quickly ran away. Not giving anyone the chance to stop her and see how hurt she really was.

“Now pleased?” Harry spat at Malfoy and Daphne. “That’s what you get when you let a fight escalate!”

“Salazar!” Blaise growled annoyed before he turned away from his friends and walked out of the classroom as well.

“I’ll go after Blaise.” Malfoy muttered. “Theo, care to join? I think we need at least one person who is friends with Granger to calm him down.” The blond said, rolling his eyes.

“Sure. And Harry, don’t be harsh on Daph or Draco. They couldn’t know this would happen. Merlin even Blaise didn’t know this would happen. But almost every word of the story was true. And it was time the two of you would hear it.”

That being said, he quickly walked after Malfoy out of the room.

“Let’s find Hermione.” Daphne said sternly. “And don’t you dare to snap at me, Potter. Because you know better than anyone else that I would never call her such foul word.”

“Let’s just find her.” Harry muttered. He had a lot to think about.


	7. The History of dark Arts

They did find the girl, but only after searching through the whole castle. Harry remembered that she liked to hide herself in the bathroom when she was upset so that’s where they had started. Only to find out that looking in all bathrooms was as much work as going through the whole castle.

“Please, tell me she didn’t run towards this one.” Daphne muttered, looking at the door of another girls-bathroom. They were currently standing on the first floor and Harry looked confused at the blonde beside him. They hadn’t talked much, and this was the first sentence in half an hour she spoke to him.

“Why do you hope she isn’t here? I mean, if she is we can cheer her up and quit looking.” The raven muttered.

“Because this is the bathroom from Moaning Myrtle. She is haunting this bathroom for over 50 years now and this is the last one you should come to find peace and quiet.” Her Safire eyes were piercing in his green and the boy shuffled uneasy. “You’ll find out in a minute.” The girl muttered.

They entered the bathroom after quickly scanning their surroundings. The girls bathroom was the last place Harry wanted to be caught.

“Hermione?” Daphne quietly spoke. The only noise Harry heard was a soft sobbing but apparently Daphne knew enough. She quickly walked further into the room towards the last door of the toilet. Harry could now hear a soft cackling too.

“Oh dearie, did some boy make fun of you?” He heard a girl’s voice saying. “Well too bad. You probably deserved it. Look at you with your bushy hair and big teeth!”

“Leave her alone, Myrtle.” Daphne spoke harshly. “Don’t you have something else to do than taunt the poor girl?!”

“Oh, look. Cry-baby has a friend!” The taunting voice said again.

Harry was losing his temper. Who in Merlin’s name did that girl think she was? He quickly approached the small cabin but the girl was nothing like he taught she would be.

“A boy!” A girl with large, jam pot glasses screeched. “You invited a boy over in the girls bathroom?”

“Harry, meet Myrtle.” Daphne said annoyed, kneeling down next to Hermione who had her face hidden in her hands. “She is the ghost who haunts this toilet and you can see why nobody likes her.”

A bit surprised over Daphne’s harshness but glad that the wailing ghost disappeared into the nearest toilet, Harry kneeled down next to Hermione as well.

“Are you alright, Hermione?” He asked concerned.

“Really?” Daphne shot him a disapproving look. Obviously the brunette wasn’t alright. “Come on Hermione. Blaise didn’t mean it like that. To be honest, I’m sure he feels even worse than you now.”

Hermione looked up from her knees and gave Daphne an unbelievable look.

“I doubt that. Myrtle made sure I feel even worse than before I entered this room.” She muttered.

“Well, you could’ve picked every room instead of this one.” Daphne said, shrugging her shoulders. “Now, come on. Get out of the self-pity. You and Blaise can talk this out after we cleaned you up a bit. Because seriously, puffy eyes are so last season.” Daphne helped Hermione up and Harry looked bemused at the two girls who seemed to have cleaned the air already.

“Daphne, why are you nice to me?”

“Why wouldn’t I be.” The girl said shrugging. “Not only are you the brightest witch of our age and are you a blessing for my schoolwork, the boy-who-lived is friends with you and you made two purebloods think different about muggleborns… You are special. And I like special.” She smiled at the girl. “And besides, shutting my inner Slytherin up, I like you.” She bumped her hips at Hermione’s and the girl chuckled.

“Alright.” Harry couldn’t wrap his mind around it that that was all it took to cheer the girl up. A minute ago she had been crying.

“Now, before we make sure you and Blaise can be in the same room once again, let me explain to you why this is such a sore object for purebloods.”

“Are you talking about the Dark Arts?” Hermione asked softly.

“Yeah.” Daphne said dryly. “Now, to explain to you why it’s such a sore object we need to go way back, back to the time of Merlin. It’s a rather long story, so let’s go somewhere else and make ourselves comfortable.”

“No! Don’t go! I was hoping for a nice story!” The whining voice of Moaning Myrtle sounded through the bathroom as she popped out of the toilet. Harry scrunched his nose at that, hoping the girl at least came out of a clean one.

“I don’t know, Myrtle…” Daphne muttered, looking at the girl with a harsh stare. “You weren’t really nice to Hermione earlier so what do you have for us that we would stay?”

“I… Well I’m a ghost. I owe you something.” She exclaimed, happy to find something.

“Fine.” The blonde huffed. “But you keep quiet and let me explain everything or we leave right away.”

“You have my word.” The ghost said solemnly.

“Alright. So, to explain why Blaise said it was all the muggleborns’ fault that the dark arts are banned from wizarding Britain we need to go back to a dark time for wizards and witches in Britain. England was ruled by king Uther Pendragon, a man who hated  witches from the bottom of his heart. His lovely wife had died because of one of them, at least that was what he said. Before his hatred started, Uther was married to the lovely Igraine. She was known as the fairest lady of whole England and kinder than anyone you know. There was only one problem. She couldn’t bear a child. Uther, who desperately wanted an heir, searched everywhere for a solution, eventually finding a light witch, who happened to be a healing priestess.”

“What’s a Priestess?” Harry asked frowning. This started good already…

“A priestess or a priest is someone who distinguishes themselves in a certain field of magic.” Hermione explained quickly.

“Oh… alright.” Harry muttered.

“So, he found a healing Priestess and asked her for help.” Daphne went further, making herself comfortable leaning against a wall. Hermione had sat down already and looked up at the blonde while Harry decided to join the brunette. “She told him that the charm she would perform wasn’t without any risk but Uther was so determined to get an heir, he let her perform it on his wife anyway. And that is where it went wrong.” Both Hermione and Harry were hanging at her lips and even Moaning Myrtle kept her mouth shut. “Igraine died the moment after she gave birth to her only son, Arthur. Uther blamed the Priestess for that and she was the first witch who was killed under his command. About two years and too many dead corpses later Uther found a new wife and got a daughter with her, or so he thinks. The truth is, that his second wife was a light witch who had an affair with Salazar Slytherin.”

Hermione took a sharp intake of breath at that, giving Daphne big eyes.

“So, you mean…”

“Yes.” Daphne nodded.

Harry, who couldn’t follow at all just stared at the girl blankly.

“I guess we missed something.” Myrtle moaned.

“Oh shut your mouth.” Daphne muttered. “If you are patient everything will be explained. Uther’s second wife, Meissa, got a daughter and called her Morgana.”

“Oh, alright! Now I get it.” Myrtle cheered, but quickly shut up when she noticed Daphne’s glare.

“Salazar, who wanted to give his little girl a safe place to learn everything about magic, gathered his three friends and decided to start a school for witchcraft and wizardry, away from Camelot somewhere in Scotland.”

“Hogwarts.” Harry said.

“Are you going to tell the story or am I? Because it’s really difficult to do so when everyone interrupts you.” Harry gave her an apologetic smile and was quickly forgiven. “So yeah, they started Hogwarts and made sure that every young witch or wizard was save from Uther’s wrath. Eleven years later, his daughter joined him at the school, under the guise of going to an elite girl school, and was happily sorted into Slytherin where she met her best friend, Merlin.”

“No way!” Myrtle cheered. “Merlin and Morgana?!”

“Yes.” The girl agreed. “They became such good friends Morgana made sure Merlin got a job at the castle after they graduated. That’s how Merlin became Arthur’s squire and saved his life with magic multiple times. But Morgana wasn’t that good in keeping her powers a secret, seeing that she appeared to be a Priestess of the Dark Arts, giving away her ability to do magic during a fight with Arthur. Lucky for her, Arthur was very devoted to his ‘half-sister’ and decided to keep it a secret from his dad, at the same time trying to get him to ease up towards magic. But all their efforts were a waste of time and when Morgana decided to out her power to ‘her dad’ he banned her from the kingdom. His wife couldn’t forgive him for that and killed her husband with a Baneberry poison. Starting a big war between muggles and wizards. Arthur swore to revenge the death of his dad and a lot of our kind were afraid that he would end up the same as him. Merlin, being a muggleborn and Arthur’s best friend, decided to fight side by side with Arthur, getting support of a lot of other muggleborns and light wizards, betraying his other best friend for years. The war ended the day Arthur was killed by a sword and Morgana by Merlin’s wand.”

“Oh! The tragedy!!!” Myrtle exclaimed enthusiastic.

“But, what does all this have to do with muggleborns being the cause of banning Dark magic?” Hermione asked confused.

“Oh, after defeating Morgana the Light wizards decided that the use of Dark magic only caused problems and dead and banned the use of hexes and curses. The only form allowed was blood-magic, seeing that all wizards used that for marriages. But certain muggleborns weren’t pleased with the idea of bonding through blood, seeing that once the ritual was completed, you’re bonded for life and only death could separate you.”

“Wait? So no divorces?” Harry asked surprised.

“Divorces are bad for wizards, Harry. Most purebloods marry for money or to enforce the bonds between family. If you could divorce it would be bad for you and bad for your family.”

“So, purebloods don’t marry for love?” Hermione asked shocked.

“If the love of your life is good for your family, sure you can marry him. But most times the marriages were arranged even before the children were born so you just had to learn to love your partner.” Daphne said, shrugging her shoulders. “Arranged marriages were still very common during our grandparents time but they are dying out together with the purebloods. So don’t be afraid, you won’t be forced to marry anyone.”

“Alright…” Hermione was quiet for a moment, a small frown on her forehead. “So Dark magic is only banned because Morgana and her followers used it to fight during their war against Arthur, even though it was in self-defence.”

“And because Merlin was a crappy friend.” Harry piped up, earning a roll of both girls eyes.

“To be honest, there were as much people killed by dark as by light magic.” Daphne sighed. “The muggles and muggleborns just thought that curses and hexes were the only thing you could harm people with and therefore banned most of them.”

“But why didn’t they explain all this like you did to us?” Harry asked confused. “They should be reasonable, at least Merlin should be. I always hear what a great wizard he was.”

“They didn’t explain it for the same reason this isn’t given during history of magic, Harry.” Daphne sighed again. “They were afraid of its power and light wizards and witches can’t use dark magic so they did the only logic thing to defend themselves and keep the upper hand, they got rid of it.”

“Salazar.” Harry muttered.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

The story wasn’t enough though to clean the air between Hermione and Blaise. Although the brunette was a lot more understanding towards the purebloods she still couldn’t forgive the Italian for his insult and she made pretty clear she wasn’t planning on talking it out until he would apologise. To Harry’s surprise Daphne chose the girl’s side. They were currently heading towards the great hall for lunch and the three of them were discussing the seating arrangements.

“I don’t know, Daphne. I’m not sure I’m welcome at your table…” The brunette muttered, letting her eyes drift from the green to the red table and back. “Although I’m not sure I’m welcome over there either…”

“Your choice Hermione.” Harry spoke up. “But you are always welcome at our table. Just so you know. Having an argument with Blaise doesn’t take your right to sit with us away.”

Daphne, noticing the inner struggle of the girl decided to help.

“You know what. I’ll join you at your table.” She gave her a bright smile. “That way you’re more welcome than me.” The last sentence was followed by a wink.

“Thanks Daphne!” The girl almost cheered.

Harry said his goodbye to the two girl before walking over towards Theo and Blaise, who seemed to be sitting next to Malfoy and Adrian Pucey.

“Harry!” The elder boy greeted. “Do you know the news already?”

“What news?” The raven asked confused.

“You remember Kali backed out of the team because with head duties and all it would be too much right?” Adrian asked.

“Yeah…” Harry gave him a confused look.

“We found our new chaser.” Adrian said happily. “And new brooms as well.”

“Did the school buy us new brooms?” Harry asked confused. He knew McGonagall had bought one for him but he had seen the ones in the Gryffindor team and was confused why they didn’t get new ones as well.

“Of course not, Potter.” Malfoy drawled. “My dad bought them to thank the team for allowing me to join in.”

“So you bought your way in.” Harry said, scrunching his nose.

“We’re Slytherins, of course he bought his way in.” Theo said dryly.

“But that doesn’t mean he isn’t talented.” Adrian said shrugging. “Flint let him try out before dinner and I have to admit, he’s decent.”

“Anyway, our Nimbus 2001 arrive tomorrow.” Malfoy said smugly.

“Flint has scheduled a training early tomorrow to work our new chaser in.” Adrian informed him.

“Oh, alright.” Harry muttered, piling his plate with food. He loved the thought of having new brooms but the idea of accepting a gift of Malfoy was too repulsive, especially since he was more than pleased with his own broom.

His eyes darted towards Blaise who seemed to be much more quiet than otherwise. He tried to talk to him but gave up quickly not wanting to be ignored. It wasn’t personal though… He didn’t even talk to Malfoy who gave up with an annoyed sigh. Theo wasn’t much company either. Oh yeah, the boy tried to get Harry into the conversation he and Adrian were having but Harry wasn’t that much into tactics. He loved Quidditch and everything about it but he didn’t get half of the terms they were using so he decided to just have some quality time with his potato salad and chicken.  And after that with some of the lovely chocolate cake that was tempting him since start of meal. He dug in his meal and listened to the conversations around him, one catching his attention.

“Where is Daphne?” Tracy asked Pansy and Millicent when she sat down. The girl was late to the meal and Harry pulled up a brow in confusion. Tracy was never late.

“With Granger.” Pansy huffed as an answer. Tracy looked around in confusion.

“And where is Granger?” She asked frowning. “Why isn’t she with Blaise and his friends?

“Apparently Granger had a fight with Blaise.” Pansy said, shrugging her shoulders.

How in Salazar’s name did she know that. His eyes shot to Blaise and Malfoy before he brought his attention back to Tracy. She seemed to be surprised.

“Well, I hope they sort it out quickly. The girl will be a blessing for our grades.” She muttered.

The rest of dinner went by quickly and when they were done Theo, Harry, Blaise and Malfoy walked together towards the door where Hermione and Daphne were already waiting for them.

 “Still up to go to the library?” Hermione asked Theo. “You’re welcome as well.” She said with a smile at Daphne.”

“I’m going to pass this one.” The blonde chuckled. “I agreed to hang out with Pansy, Tracey and Millie.”

“Alright.” The brunette smiled.

“I’m still up to it though.” Theo said, flinging his arm around the girls shoulder. “Let’s go!”

The two of them left and Harry followed them with his eyes until they got out of sight.

“Are you hanging out with us, Harry?” Blaise asked, that being the first words he said to the raven boy made both Malfoy and Harry looking up in surprise.

“If Malfoy doesn’t mind.” Harry said, looking at the blond. Malfoy shrugged.

“Sure, we’re playing in the team together from now on. We better learn to be civil towards each other. “ He said.

“About Quidditch…” Blaise said suddenly. “I was wondering, if you don’t want that broom, Harry. Can I have it?”

“You better not lose, Potter.” Malfoy grumbled when the raven said yes to his friends question. “And have fun with your new broom, you moron.”

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

After a few days of dodging Lockhart and trying to stay away from Collin Creevy who seemed to have learned Harry’s timetable out of his head and popped up every moment to greet him and ask him to sign the picture he had made with him and Lockhart, Hermione and Blaise still weren’t talking to each other. Harry had asked Theo about his talk with Blaise and the boy had told him Blaise did feel guilty but was too proud to admit he was wrong. That was the reason Harry and Theo had to divide their attention between their friends and it made them all a tad annoyed. Daphne had sided with Hermione though, and gave her undivided attention at the girl, making Pansy, Tracy and Millicent spend more time with her as well. Theo was talking about some kind of theory that said that the more time you spend together the better you would get on. Harry didn’t really know if it was true but he did notice that although Pansy and Millicent had been annoyed the first two days, they stopped complaining quickly.   
It was the fourth day since the argument now and the day before the brooms finally had arrived. That’s when Flint decided they would practice today, early. That’s why neither Harry nor Malfoy were surprised the moment that Adrian walked into their room to wake them up.

“Get up boys, it’s time to get your lazy asses on the field.” Adrian said cheerfully.

“Adrian, It’s eight o’clock.” Harry moaned. “How can you be so cheerfully?”

“First practice of the year. Do you know how long it has been since I have been on a broom?” Adrian muttered.

“Two days ago, when you sneaked out with Knight, Michaels and Flint.” Malfoy answered, getting out of bed. “Good head girl do we have huh.” He muttered to Harry. The raven haired boy smirked at that. If you asked him, they had the best.  

“Now, come on! Get ready or no breakfast.” Adrian threatened.

Both boys quickly jumped out of their bed, Harry stumbling into Theo’s because of his hurry, waking up the other and earning himself a hex. Rubbing his ass, Harry glared at his friend. It had been an accident.

“Bloody hell, Harry!” Theo grumbled. “Some of us were allowed to sleep until noon. Now, I can forget that.”

“Don’t be such a wuss, Theo.” Malfoy answered amused. “You should be happy Potter woke you up. Now you can join us on the field.”

The boy’s face lit up as he turned around and picked up his pillow, throwing it at Blaise who had been sound asleep. The Italian shot up, his wand in his hand as he looked around himself in bewilderment. When he noticed the pillow and the laughing Theo he aimed his wand at him.

“You bloody idiot!” The boy grumbled.

“Ten minutes left for breakfast.” Adrian said dryly. “Flint and Kali expect the two of you on the field in twenty minutes.” With that being said he turned around and walked out of the room.

“Wait! Knight is coming?!” Malfoy asked surprised. “Adrian?!”

But Adrian didn’t answer and all four boys looked at each other in surprise.

“I thought she had quit Quidditch.” Theo muttered.

“Obviously she did, Theo. Otherwise I wouldn’t be on the team.” Malfoy said.

“Well, I heard someone say she and Flint have something going on.” Blaise commented, putting on his pants.

“And who was that someone?” Malfoy asked, a brow pulled up high.

“I kinda overheard Michaels and Knight’s twin.” Blaise confessed. “They were talking about the fact that they barely saw her with her head-duties and the fact that she spends a lot of her free time with Flint.”

“I guess we find out soon enough what’s going on.” Harry said, picking up his gear before walking towards the door. “Ready Malfoy? I want some breakfast and I’m not waiting for you.”

“I was born ready.” Malfoy commented before walking after the raven haired boy.

Adrian was waiting for them downstairs in the common room, two plates of food in front of him.

“About time.” He mused with a wink towards the boys. Both Malfoy and Harry quickly attacked their breakfast. Once they were both finished, they looked at Adrian who was writing something down on a roll of parchment.

“What are you doing?” Malfoy asked frowning.

“Homework.” Adrian answered dryly. “Now, let’s get down to the field. I don’t want Kali’s wrath upon me.” He joked.

“Wait, we are coming with you!” Blaise and Theo ran into the common room fully clothed. “We don’t want to miss the first practice of the year.”

The five of them left the common room and quickly went towards the changing rooms. While Blaise and Theo searched a good spot to sit, the three others quickly changed into their uniforms, finishing just in time to see Kali and Flint enter the room together, carrying some parchment rolls.

“Good to see everyone is ready.” Kali said cheerfully. “Marcus and I have been talking about some tactics.”

Harry’s face fell and so did the others. They all had missed flying high in the sky, feeling the wind in their hair and seeing the majestic view of Hogwarts from up high.

“But seeing that we’re not Wood, we decided to practice first and talk about tactics later.” Flint announced, making his team cheer in happiness. “Especially because everyone here wants to test those Nimbus 2001’s.” He pointed out.

Happily they all grabbed their broom, Harry being the only one with a Nimbus 2000, before walking over towards the field. It was then that Harry noticed there already was someone on the field. Those red uniforms could only mean one thing.

“Gryffindors.” Malfoy spat.

It seemed the other team had noticed them as well, seeing that Wood flew down to the ground at a high speed, staggering slightly as he dismounted. The twins followed him down and landed a tad more graceful behind their captain.

“Flint!” Wood roared at the Slytherin captain “This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!”

Flint smirked at the annoyed look on Wood’s face and right then Harry could swear he just enjoyed making the other captain’s life a living hell. He shuffled uncomfortable.

“Plenty of room for all of us, Wood.” Flint answered gleefully.

The twins had noticed Harry now and nodded in his direction, making a funny face. Harry snickered at it and nodded back as a greet before focussing his attention back on the two captains. Kali, who was standing behind Flint rolled her eyes at the boys their behaviour and shook her head at Wood’s complaining. The rest of the Gryffindor team had joined them on the field by now and Harry noticed them glaring at Kali who just shrugged her shoulders.

“But I booked the pitch!” The Gryffindor captain spit out. “I booked it!”

“Ah, but we got a special note from Professor Snape.” Flint said smirking. Harry pulled up a brow at that. This explained a lot. He had been surprised to see the Gryffindors at the pitch and when Wood said he had reserved the pitch he had no idea what they were doing here. But of course, seeing that they were Slytherins, they wouldn’t come down here unprepared. “ _I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practise today on the Quidditch pitch, owing to the need to train their new chaser._ ”

“You’ve got a new chaser?” Wood asked distracted. “I see you, Knight and Pucey here.”

“You do know there are only three chasers allowed right?” One of the twins asked.

“Of course he does.” Kali drawled annoyed. “I’m just here for tactical support.”

“This is our new chaser.” Adrian pushed Malfoy towards the front of the team and the blond smirked at the other team.

“Aren’t you the son of Lucius Malfoy?” The other twin asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Right, Weasleys and Malfoys were on an even worse foot than Harry and Malfoy.

“Funny you bring up Draco’s father.” Flint said gleefully. “Let me show you the generous gift he’s made to the Slytherin team.

Everyone except for Kali and Harry handed out their brooms so the Gryffindor team could look at them. This time Harry literally shuffled aside. He didn’t like where this was going. While Flint explained all the good stuff about the Nimbus 2001 his eyes searched the twins who were glaring daggers at Malfoy and the other Slytherins.

“I think they get it, Marcus.” Kali said, interrupting their captain. “We should be practicing instead of arguing anyway. That is, if Wood can work with that?” She looked at the Gryffindor captain who grumbled annoyed.

“Fine. You keep the left side of the field, we the right.” Wood agreed before getting up his broom again and taking off. Everyone except for the twins followed quickly.

“Why don’t you have one, Harry?” They asked frowning.

“Did you piss of Malfoy so hard he is willing to risk losing the game?”

“I’m happy with my Nimbus 2000.” Harry said shrugging his shoulders. “So I declined the offer.”

“He’s changing brooms if he loses a game though.” Kali said with a wink. “Now, chop chop. The lot of you should be in the air already.”

“Aye aye, head girl.” The twins joked as they took off after their team.

“You have a great taste in friends, Potter.” Malfoy muttered, looking at the two Weasley’s. “A mudblood and now those two Weasels. Just as I thought you couldn’t sink lower…”

“Just because you have a fast broom doesn’t mean I can’t knock you off it.” Harry grumbled angrily.

“No one is harming their teammates, Potter.” Flint grumbled.

“If you do we kick you off the team.” Kali threatened. “Now up you go!”

As Harry and Malfoy took off from the ground they didn’t hear Flint anymore.

“Kicking them off the team? Do you want us to lose?” He shrieked.

“Loosen up a bit, Marcus. As if they would risk such thing.” Kali said shrugging. “Now, join your team and show those Gryffindors how it’s done.”

“Whatever you want, head girl.” He winked at the blonde before taking of as well and joining his team high in the air. Kali sighed before walking over to join Blaise and Theo on the stand. She missed flying.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

After the weirdest Quidditch practice Harry ever had had, he decided to pay Hagrid a visit. Blaise was going to spend his day with Malfoy so he decided to ask Hermione and Theo with him. The latest had agreed already so they had took off together to find the brunette.

“Don’t you think we should try and let Hermione and Blaise make up or something?” Harry asked his friend frowning. “They haven’t talked to each other in four days.”

“They’ll make up eventually.” Theo said shrugging. “One of them just has to set aside their pride. I mean, yeah, Blaise called her a mudblood and he shouldn’t have done that, but she had riled him up badly. Dark arts is a sore subject amongst purebloods and being the brightest witch of her age she should’ve known that.”

But you said it yourself…” Harry muttered. “No one teaches about dark magic because light wizards and witches are afraid of it. How should she have known?”

“I don’t know…” Theo muttered thoughtfully. “I just thought there was nothing our Hermione didn’t know.”

“She doesn’t know why you are talking about her.” A female voice said, startling both boys. Without noticing they had approached Hermione and Daphne who had been on their way down to the Quidditch pitch looking for the boys.

“We wanted to ask if you wanted to come and visit Hagrid.” Harry said quickly, recovering from the shock.

“Sure. It’s been a while.” She said with a small smile. “Can Daphne join?”

“Nah, we just ask you while your accompanied by her to make her jealous.” Theo drawled.

“No need to turn into a sarcastic bitch.” Daphne grumbled. “Why are we visiting the big man anyway?”

“Because he’s our friend. That’s why.” Harry answered.

“Well, he’s mostly Harry’s friend.” Theo said shrugging. “I like him fair enough and it’s always useful to have an insider between the professors.” Hermione gave him a stern glare and played with her wand in her hand, making the boy gulp. “Okay, okay. Fair enough. Because we like him.” Theo grumbled.

“He’s lovely, Daphne.” Hermione said smiling. “Sure, he has some sort of a childlike character but he’s one of the purest wizards you will ever meet.”

“Well, I guess I will see that myself once we meet.” She muttered. “But that will never happen if we don’t start moving.”

The four of them started walking over towards the little hut Hagrid was living in, passing Lockhart on his way back. Harry had quickly dodged behind Hermione and Daphne to hide himself from the man and sighed in relieve when the professor went by without giving the three others a second look. Daphne huffed in annoyance at that.

“Can you believe him?! He didn’t even greeted back!” She muttered as Harry straightened himself up again. “If you’re not the famous boy-who-lived you’re not worth a simple greet.”

“Now that’s hardly fair.” Hermione piped up, defending Lockhart. “He probably had a lot on his mind.”

“Probably looking for his mirror.” Theo grumbled annoyed. “Really busy, yeah.”

“Why does it matter?” Harry asked cheerfully. “Whatever the reason was, he didn’t see me so I’m saved from another lecture about being famous. Let’s just enjoy a good cup of tea in a Lockhart-free zone.”

“Merlin yes!” Theo agreed cheerfully. “That’s an idea you just can’t turn down!”

The two girls just shrugged as they followed Theo and Harry towards the door so the raven could knock. Hagrid appeared at once, looking very annoyed. Once he noticed the four students his face lit up though.

“Bin wonderin’ when you’de come to see me. Thought it was that oaf of a Lockhart again. Come in, come in.” Hagrid made room so the four of them could enter. Daphne scrunched her nose when she took in the room Hagrid was sleeping in. There was a huge bed in one corner and a crackling fire in the other corner.

“This house is in a severe need of a make-over.” Harry heard Daphne mutter as she looked around. “All the potential to be cosy but this is so ‘70’s.”

When Hermione burst out in a fit of giggles Theo looked over to Daphne as well who gave the brunette a small glare.

“D’you want some tea?” Hagrid asked, getting the kettle from the fire. “And ‘re you introducing me to your friend?” His eyes shot towards Daphne.

“Hagrid, meet Daphne Greengrass. A housemate of Theo and Harry.” Hermione introduced the girl.

“Pleasure.” Daphne said, shaking the large man’s hand civilised.

“What had Lockhart to say, Hagrid?” Harry asked, making himself at home and patting at the chair next to him so Daphne could sit as well. There was only one chair left and Theo politely gave it at Hermione who tried to decline the offer but ended on the chair anyway. Hagrid brought their cups of tea as he answered.

“Givin’ me advice on how to get rid of the kelpies in the garden.” He grumbled. “An’ ramblin’ on and on about some Banshee he banished. If one word is true I’ll eat my kettle.”

“And that’s why I like him so much.” Theo whispered in Daphne’s ear. A small smile appeared on her face. It wasn’t like Hagrid at all to criticise a teacher but that wasn’t something Theo was going to tell her.

“Well, that’s hardly fair, Hagrid.” Hermione piped up, again ready to defend her teacher. “Dumbledore gave him the job for a reason.”

“Yeh, because he was the only applicant.” Hagrid grumbled. “Ever since what happened to Quirrel they think the position is hunted or something.” He explained. “We haven’t been able to keep a D.A.D.A. teacher for very long.”

“No shit Sherlock.” Theo muttered. Hermione’s head shot up from her cup of tea, almost spilling the hot drink all over her as she turned to look at Theo.

“What did you just say, Theo?” She asked quietly.

“No shit, Sherlock…” He repeated, frowning a little. “Look, I’m sorry I used a bad word but…”

“You know Sherlock?” Hermione asked stunned, ignoring what he had been saying.

“Of course I know him.” Theo said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s written by a wizard. Bet you didn’t know that, huh.” He winked at her.  

“Close your mouth, darling.” Daphne said amused. “It’s not lady like.” 

Both Harry and Hagrid watched the brunette closing her mouth in amusement. It wasn’t very often that she was stunned and without words.

“You don’t know everything about me, Mione.” Theo said amused. “I actually really like Sherlock. And I do read muggle-novels like Hercules Poirot. That writer was a muggle but she did prove the muggles can compete with wizards. ”

“I didn’t know he was a wizard…” Hermione muttered. “But I could’ve gotten over myself if you just read English-muggle literature. Now you tell me you read muggle-literature from over sees as well?” She asked in awe.

“Sure.” Theo shrugged. “I had a Belgian nanny. She let me read her detective novels.”

“Of course. A Belgian nanny. How could I forget about your nanny.” She muttered.

“Well, because you grew up with two parents probably.” Theo muttered, his eyes hardening for a moment. Hermione got a sad look and put her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Theo muttered. “Can you pass my tea please.

And with that the conversation went to a safer subject like redecorating the hut. Seeing Hagrid and Daphne getting all heated over the colour of the curtains brought a smile back on everyone’s face, even Theo’s. Especially once Hagrid joked about framing a signed photo of Harry that he heard the raven haired boy was giving out.

“I’m not giving out signed photo’s!” Harry grumbled annoyed. “Really if Lockhart is still going on about that I will strangle his pompous neck.”

Only then he noticed Hagrid’s smile.

“I know, kid.” He said. “I told Lockhart yeh didn’t need teh. That you’re more famous than him anyway.”

“I bet he didn’t like that.” Theo said amused.

“No, he decided to leave.” Hagrid chuckled. “Should’ve brought teh up earlier.”

Everyone except Hermione laughed at that and soon enough they all had finished their tea and decided to go back to the castle.

“Come and see my garden first.” Hagrid said. “And no redecorating there, girl.” He said with a stern look on the blonde who’s face had lit up at the mention of a garden. Her smile didn’t falter once when she replied.

“We’ll see.”

In the garden the four students noticed a dozen of the largest pumpkins they had ever seen in their life.

“Hagrid, what have you’ve been feeding them?” Harry asked surprised. “They’re almost as big as your house!”

That was only slightly exaggerated, they were at least as big as a boulder and were in a bright, orange colour. So bright it almost hurt to look at. Hagrid shuffled a bit and looked over his shoulder to check if they were alone.

“Let’s just say I helped them a bit.” The big man muttered.

Harry saw Hagrid’s pink umbrella resting against the fence and he pulled up a brow. This was only a reason more to believe that Hagrid’s snapped wand was in it. He knew that the big man wasn’t allowed to do magic, seeing that he got expelled in his third year. He didn’t know why though… every time he asked Hagrid quickly changed topic so he had given up.

“An engorgement charm I suppose?” Hermione said. She seemed to be torn between disapproval and amusement. “You did a good job.”

“What is that? Our Hermione approving of rule-breaking?!” Theo teased the brunette.

“Just don’t let the word spread.” She winked at the boy before turning around to Hagrid. “It was nice seeing you again, Hagrid. But we really need to go now. It’s nearly lunchtime and I’m dying for some pumpkin soup.” Hermione said cheery.

“See you next time then.” Hagrid said with a small smile. “Hope You’ll be there as well, girl.” He said to Daphne. “I would love to hear your ideas for my cabin.”

The blonde smiled brightly at Hagrid before agreeing. And with that they took off towards the Great hall to have some well-deserved lunch.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

The Saturday seemed to end quicker than the students had thought to be possible and soon enough Hermione had to say goodbye so she could get back to her common room before curfew.

“I talk to you guys tomorrow.” She said with a smile. “But I have to do a bunch of stairs so…” She looked over her shoulder at the door of the library and sighed. She would never make it in time.

“What is this, Gred?” The voice of a certain ginger popped up from behind Hermione.

“Is this our little miss goody-two-shoes and her friends the idiot-who-said-no-to-a-nimbus2001, the boy-who-nearly-died-during-chess and the blonde beauty?” The other ginger said.

“Hi Fred, George.” Hermione greeted without turning around so she could finish picking up her stuff.

“Weasley’s.” Theo greeted a tad annoyed, he looked at Daphne who was blushing and rolled his eyes. Harry just pulled up a brow as he noticed his friends eye-roll before acknowledging the twins.

“Guys.” He greeted.

“What are the icklie second years.” George said.

“Doing out five minutes before curfew?” Fred ended, looking down on the brunette in front of him who still hadn’t turned around.

“Isn’t that a bit against your principles, Mione?” George added.

That made the girl turn around, her arms full of parchment and quills.

“It is against her principles and that’s why I’m sure the two of you will make sure she gets back to her room.” Daphne said, recovering from the compliment the two boys had given her only moments ago. Hermione smiled at her as she looked over her shoulder at the blonde.

“Of course we will.” Fred said smirking, folding up a parchment he had been holding.

“We’ll show you around to the secret passageways.” George said smirking.

“But we should leave now. Because I have a feeling Filch will barge in any moment.” Fred grabbed the stuff that Hermione had been holding and ignored her complains.

“Bye snakes.” The twins said together with a wink towards the three Slytherins before they pulled Hermione with them.

“Let’s leave as well.” Daphne muttered. “If their feeling about Filch barging in is anything but right we shouldn’t be caught here.” She muttered.

“Can’t agree more.” Theo muttered. “Because I see the stupid cat of him already. Harry did you grab your cloak?”

“Of course I did.” The raven haired boy scoffed. “What do you think I am? A Gryffindor, no offence to Hermione and those scheming twins.”

He pulled his back up and took a silky cloak out of it, pulling Daphne closer to him and Theo before throwing it over themselves. Their books were already packed so Theo quickly pulled them under the cloak as well while Daphne frowned in confusion.

“What is a cloak going to…” Harry quickly shut her up by placing a hand over her mouth as Filch walked in on them, looking around suspiciously.

“What is it my dear? Did you see some of those annoying students?” He scanned the library with his Argus’ eyes and Daphne’s eyes went big as she noticed that the man didn’t seem to notice them. Obviously she quickly put one and one together and looked at the cloak with new eyes. This just took a very interesting turn. Slowly and careful to not make any noise, the three students backed away from Filch and his evil cat, out of the library and into the hallway so they could return to the dungeons. It didn’t take them long to get there, seeing that no one could see them and the only thing they had to do was being silent.

“The three of you are lucky you didn’t get caught.” A stern voice greeted Harry and his friends as they walked in the common room. Kali was seated on one of the couches, books scattered all over the table and Flint sitting next to her, a big frown on his face as he read something on the parchment in front of him. Seth and Diana were sitting with them as well and looked a tad amused as they saw the shocked faces of the three second years. Harry had pulled of the invisibility cloak when they were in front of the entrance, seeing that it would catch a lot of attention if they entered without being visible. “The Weasel is on duty tonight and you know how stuck up he is with the rules. How he can be a brother of those twins…” She scoffed.

“Kali, I really have no idea what your notes are saying.” Flint suddenly grumbled, looking at the girl next to him in defeat. As the blonde turned back to the Quidditch captain, Harry and his friends took that as their cue to leave and they quickly wandered off towards the couch where Blaise was sitting with Malfoy, playing a game of wizarding chess.

“Daphne, Theo, Potter.” Malfoy greeted them without looking up from the game but indicating Blaise his friends had arrived. Blaise looked up from the game for a moment and muttered a greeting before smirking and muttering a command.

“Check, Drake.” He said smugly.

Malfoy didn’t seem fazed at all, took one look over the board before a smirk appeared on his face as well.

“Check mate.” He drawled after he made his knight move. “You need to keep your head in the game, Blaise.” He muttered, shaking his head slowly. Harry did a onceover over the board and saw what Malfoy meant. He could’ve gotten Blaise check mate in two different ways with the move the Italian had done.

“That looks like you were on a distant place, Blaise.” Daphne muttered, frowning. “Draco could end this game in three different ways.”

Harry frowned. Three? He quickly looked at the board again to see what he missed.

“You could just talk it out, you know.” Theo drawled, guessing where their friends head had been.

“I was just distracted by the potion essay I still need to do.” Blaise grumbled.

“Want a rematch?” Malfoy asked his friend.

“No, I think I’m going to do it right away.” The Italian stood up quickly and walked away from the board. Theo sighed and looked at the board.

“I’m in for a game.” He said to Malfoy who just shrugged and pointed towards the spot where Blaise had been sitting moments ago.

“Where are you going Harry?” Daphne asked when she noticed the raven haired boy walking away.

“I’m checking in on Blaise.” He answered. “Theo hit a sore spot I guess.”

Daphne nodded before looking at her two other friends.

“They know that as well, but telling you it’s something very Gryffindor to go after someone who doesn’t want to talk is a waste of time, so want me to join?”

“Sure.” He shrugged his shoulders and together they climbed the stairs towards one of the second year boys room. While they entered they noticed Crabbe and Goyle with some snacks sitting on their bed and Daphne snorted at the sight before straightening her back.

“Out!” She ordered the two and both boys looked up in surprise before quickly gathering their food and leaving the room. Harry guessed they weren’t as dumb to ignore an order from Daphne more than once. They had done it one time and had ended with a few hexes flung towards their head. Of course it had been an order to quit insulting Hermione and the hexes were more than deserved, but they probably didn’t want to take the risk to disagree once more.

“Blaise?” Harry spoke, looking at the Italian lying down on his bed, his hands behind his head and eyes open as he stared up at the ceiling.

“I knew it would be too much to ask to get a moment of silence.” He grumbled annoyed. “I’m not apologising.”

“I just wanted to check you were alright.” Harry said shrugging. “I trust one off you will be the adult soon and apologise.” He shrugged his shoulders again. He was actually kinda hoping they would put their pride aside, because he knew very well neither of them was planning on doing the first step.

The next words weren’t what Harry expected as an answer from Blaise.

“ _Come… Come to me… Let me rip you… Let me tear you…. Let me kill you.”_

“What did you just say?” He asked incredulously.

“That I would be fine if I got some rest… I have a killer headache.” Blaise said frowning, looking up at his friend.

“Why, Harry?” Daphne asked confused. She had noticed the raven haired boy pale and she didn’t believe it was because of what Blaise had said.

“Because I heard a voice saying something entirely different…” Harry muttered, looking down at the ground, lost in thoughts. If he had understood it right, something very bad was going to happen and the warning Dobby had given him came back to mind. He really hoped the house-elf was wrong.


	8. All Hallows eve

October had arrived, spreading a damped chill over the grounds of Hogwarts. Hermione sighed as she walked up the stairs towards the Gryffindor common room and saw Ginny Weasley passing her by. The girl had been looking pale the last couple of days and Percy had forced to take some pepper up potion Madame Pomfrey had in stock seeing that the flue was spreading in the school like a raging fire. But it didn’t really seemed to help. The twins did everything I their power to cheer her up though and Hermione couldn’t keep herself from admiring the love they had for their little sister. Talking about the Weasleys… Hermione paled a bit when she noticed Ronald Weasley and his two friends Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas walking her way. She looked around herself to find a way out but didn’t find anything, seeing that she had just walked up the stairs.

“Granger! Just the girl we were looking for.” Ronald spoke gleefully.

“Boys.” She muttered.

“How is our transfiguration essay going?” Seamus asked, looking at the stack of books she was carrying in her arms and her bag swung over her shoulder.

“I told you I am not making it for you.” She answered between gritted teeth. “I want to get the errors out but I don’t make your homework because you are too lazy and stupid to get your arses to the library yourself.”

“Take that back.” Seamus spat, grabbing her free arm and pushing her against the wall.

She shook her head, keeping her chin up high in proud.

"You're nothing more than an insufferable, useless, bloody, know-it-all traitor." The words leaving Ronald’s mouth hurt a lot but she didn't show it to him and his cronies.

"What are you good for if you’re not doing our homework?” Seamus asked, grabbing her arm a bit harder, digging his fingers in it. She was sure he was leaving marks on her.

"For the I don't-know-how-maniest time, I'm not making your homework!" She spat, looking braver then she felt. "Now get off me or I swear you will regret it!"

"How? By calling your Snake friends?" Dean asked meanly. “Oh wait, one of them noticed what a nerd you are and quit hanging out with you.” He snickered when he saw the girl flinch. “It’s only a matter of time before the others notice it as well and dump you as a pile of rubbish.”

"We don't like traitors." Ronald spat, wanting the spotlight back on him. "Maybe we should lock you out of the tower for good next time. You belong in the dungeons anyway."

She knew he meant it. Ever since she befriended the Slytherins they had been bullying her. Of course she had kept it a secret for her friends, her pride keeping her from being seen as helpless.

She had lost count of times the girls in her dorm would ignore her, not speaking or acknowledging her at all. Or the times boys had rounded on her and hounded her long enough so she would help them with their homework. This wasn't the first time they had cornered her, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

"I asked you something, traitor!" The Weasley spat, making the girl flinch. She was doing everything she could to find a way out. Oh how stupid she had been for leaving the library without her friends. Harry was off to Quidditch practice and Theo had offered to stay, not being needed as he wasn't on the team. Knowing that Theo did enjoy watching the practice and having planned to meet up with Daphne and the other later, she had let him go. She and Blaise still weren’t talking either so he probably was at the Quidditch pit as well. Not caring that she was cornered on the third floor, away from any help.

"You're a pathetic excuse of a human being, Ronald." She spat at the ginger. "Now let me go!"

"Wrong answer." Seamus snickered. Pulling her forward so she was closer to Ronald. She took advantage of this and kneed the ginger where it hurts while making a run for the empty hall after elbowing Seamus, keeping her books close to her chest. She almost got there, taking Dean by surprise, but Seamus was tougher than he looked and pulled her back harshly.

"You stupid, little bitch!" Ronald groaned out in pain. Grabbing her shoulders and slamming her against the wall. "You shouldn't have done that." He slammed her at the wall again and Hermione felt her head hit the brick wall and she could swear she could hear it burst. Dark spots appeared before her eyes and she felt her knees go weak on her. The books she had been holding fell down on the ground and she vaguely felt her bag sliding down her shoulder as well.

“Ron, maybe that’s enough.” She vaguely heard Dean saying.

“You’re such a softy sometimes.” Seamus snickered at his friend. “He’s merely shaking her. He can’t help it she’s too weak to keep her books in her arms.” Ronald did loosen his grip on her though and she tried to stumble away, not noticing how close she had been to the stairs.

“Merlin, Granger look out!” Deans words were the last ones she heard before she fell. A moment she felt light like a feather, before she collided with the hard ground at the end of the stairs, hearing something snap before she blacked out.  
.              .              .               .              .              .              .

The first thing she noticed when she came back to consciousness were the soft, white pillows her clouded head was laying on. When she tried to open her eyes to see where she was, a stinging pain started, making her shut her eyes again.

"Broken ribs, fractured skull, internal bleeding and several bruises. The girl is lucky to be alive. If this lovely girl hadn't found her she probably would have died. It’s a miracle she didn’t come off with more than that."

"I believe you earn a reward, miss Greengrass. 20 points for Slytherin." She heard the voice of her head of house say. "You may leave now, if you want."

"Nah," she heard a soft voice say. "I'll wait till she wakes up. I want to make sure she's alright."

The silence that followed told Hermione that her head of house had agreed. Everyone knew Daphne and Hermione were friends seeing that they switched between Gryffindor and Slytherin table to eat. She tried to open her eyes again, slower and more careful this time, and she succeeded. Daphne had her long, blonde hair in a high ponytail and her eyes that looked like Safire were looking down on her with no expression.

"You know, for someone who's called the brightest witch of her age, you're rather stupid." Daphne started, her voice much colder than it had been with McGonagall. "When were you planning on saying something? I don't know how it is in the muggle world but here we don't allow boys to hurt us." Hermione looked down at her hands, not even bothering to say it wasn't like that in the muggle world either. "Why haven't you told us? I can understand you don’t trust me enough to take me in confidence but you are friends with the boys for over a year now! Why wouldn’t you trust them?"

"Because they already loath Ronald and his cronies and probably lose house points, get a detention or get expelled." She muttered hoarsely.

"You're so Gryffindorish." The blonde mumbled, helping her up so she could drink a bit. "Pansy is getting the boys so you can tell them what happened. And I warn you, I will if you don't."

"How do you even know what happened?" The brunette asked confused.

"We saw those brave lions chicken out and found you down the stairs. It was just counting one and one together." The blonde answered between gritted teeth.

"Hermione! Are you alright?" Harry ran into the hospital wing, straight to the bed of his friend before he noticed the blond. "Daphne." He greeted.

"Is she alright?" Theo and Blaise rushed into the infirmary right behind their friend and Hermione smiled lightly when she saw their worried looks.

"Define alright." Daphne said. "She's alive but this could have been her funeral."

"What do you mean?" Blaise asked, giving Hermione a concerned once-over.  They hadn’t talked in a two weeks now and Hermione awkwardly looked away towards Theo who had laid his hand on her leg and gave her the same look. When Harry took her hand and sat down next to Daphne she avoided his gaze on purpose, knowing that she would not be able to bear the concern in his green, bright eyes.

"She had broken ribs, a skull fracture and internal bleedings." Daphne listed.

"If we hadn't passed..." Pansy mumbled. Hermione hadn't noticed her right away but now she saw her standing next to the one and only Draco Malfoy.

Just like Harry, he was still wearing his Quidditch uniform. They probably hadn’t wanted to lose any time in their rush to get here as fast as possible. Before she could wonder more about the reason Malfoy was here as well, Harry caught her attention.

"What happened Hermione?" He asked worried as hell.

"I fell down the stairs." She mumbled before she saw the stern look the blond girl gave her. "I got in a fight with Ronald again..."

"That bastard is going to die!" Blaise growled. Jumping of his chair, being followed by Harry and even Theo. The normally calm boy was looking ready to kill. It was only because of Malfoy that they didn't leave the infirmary.

"What are you planning? Getting expelled?" Malfoy asked deliberately. "If the three of you are gone there is no one left to protect the mudblo... Granger." He caught the foul word before it left his mouth.

"So we should just let him do this? Without a punishment?" Harry yelled angry. He seemed to be taking it really serious.

"No, that would be low. Even for us." His eyes darted to Hermione. "That would be like we were thanking him for doing this to Granger." He looked back to Harry. "We are Slytherins, Potter. We think before we act."

"Malfoy got a point." Hermione said hoarsely, only loud enough for Daphne to hear who informed the others. “And it was actually an accident. No need to kill them.” She tried to reassure them.

"Hermione agrees with Draco." Daphne said, ignoring her last statement, giving her a knowing look. As if she knew what had happened before the stairs accident.

"She what?" Harry asked stunned, turning around slowly before he walked back to his best friend. He was still trembling from anger and Hermione put her hand on his. She noticed Malfoy pushing Blaise and Theo back to her as well, the two boys still looking very annoyed and enraged.

"Malfoy is right. What good would it do if you got expelled?"

"We need to use our brains." Daphne said. "Something most lions lack."

"What are you all doing here?" Madam Pomfrey asked shocked. Looking at the group of people surrounding Hermione's bed. "The girl needs rest. She has a lot to heal! Of you go, only one can stay."

Malfoy didn't bother to linger any longer and left together with Pansy. The three other boys tried to decide who would stay.

"Go!" Daphne urged them. "You've got a revenge to plan. I'll stay with her."

Everyone left except for Blaise. He gave Daphne a short look and she nodded.

“I’ll wait outside so you can call me back in once you talked it out.” She turned around and walked out of the infirmary.

“I am really sorry.” Blaise muttered, sitting down next to Hermione on the chair where Theo had been only moments ago.

“It’s okay.” She brought out hoarsely. “I shouldn’t have said that without knowing the full story.”

“Still doesn’t make up for me calling you that foul word.” Blaise said pained, stroking a string of hair out of her face, making sure he wouldn’t put any pressure on her face, keeping in mind that her skull was still healing.

“You’re forgiven.” She muttered. “Just make sure Harry doesn’t do anything stupid.” She asked quietly.

“I will try.” He gave her a small smile before standing up. “I better get going then.” He muttered, standing up from the chair. “We cool again?”

She nodded and gave him a pained smile. Bad idea.

“I’ll send Daphne back in.”

He walked out of the infirmary and only a second later Daphne came in again, taking place next to Hermione.

“Talked everything out?” She asked

“Yeah. We’re cool again I think.” She muttered. "Thank you." She added in an afterthought, remembering she hadn’t thanked her friend yet.

"You're welcome.” She said with a kind smile. “Now let's plan our revenge." The girl said cheery. "Being friends with me means you need to learn how we Slytherins do this sort of things. I’m sure you will be splendid in it…”

"Why?"

"Because you need to be..." Daphne hesitated a moment. “I’m not one to order friends around, but just for the record. You’re not wandering around the halls alone anymore. Your housemates suck.”

Just that moment two redheads entered the infirmary.

"Hermione, are you alright? We overheard Katie and Angelina talking about you being in the infirmary."

"Although they forgot to mention that you had the blonde beauty with you.”

"Everything alright, boys." She said to the Weasley twins who had sat down. At least there were some of her housemates who cared for her.

"What happened?" They asked in union.

"Oh, you know. Hermione thought it would be fun to be thrown down a flight of stairs by your little brother and his lot. Don't worry about it too much though. It's not like it's the first time they’ve cornered her."

"He did what!?" Fred yelled angrily.

"Does Harry know? Because I hope he leaves something for us so we can finish him off." George growled.

"They're in the common room." Daphne said smirking. "Fortuna Major is the password."

"Thanks Greengrass." They yelled before leaving the girls alone. Hermione chuckled when she saw the stunned girl beside her. She never said her last name. After a sting of pain she decided to stop laughing. It hurt too much. She decided to stick with smirking.

“Well, I may have been wrong when I said your housemates suck… Those two definitely do not.”

“Yeah, Fred and George are awesome friends.” Hermione answered, watching the two dots of red hair go out of her sight. “But them killing their little brother is of no use… In the end it was an accident.”

“He deserves it.” Daphne said, shrugging her shoulders. “He’s an annoying brat.”

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

Hermione had to spent a whole week in the infirmary to get everything healed again and Madame Pomfrey had told her she was surprised to see her healing that quickly. Normally people with that much of injuries took at least two weeks to heal, even with magic. It was the day of Halloween when Hermione finally could leave. Daphne had been waiting for her so they could walk to the great hall together. The boys couldn’t join her, seeing that they were in a detention for setting Ronald and Seamus robes on fire, a harmless fire, of course,  that would only destroy their clothes. A trick they had learned from the Weasley twins who were joining them in the detention.

“So, how are you feeling?” Daphne asked, intertwining her arm with the brunette’s.

“All better.” Hermione said happily. “Did I miss anything but the fire robes?” She asked curious.

“Well, if I’m not mistaken Pansy, Tracey and Millicent are done with their prank on the boys. The Weasley twins were so nice to give us some chocolates with an extra ingredient. Once those boys are done eating, they will be as round as a bludger.”

Both girls started laughing.

“And you’re letting Dean off the hook?” Hermione asked to make sure her friend did as told.

“If he is smart enough to stay away from the chocolate he is off the hook.” Was the blondes answer. “I hope he isn’t though… just because he decided to drop by and give you your books back and apologise doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve everything we had in mind for his friends. He’s still partly the reason you missed a whole week of lessons.”

Hermione’s shoulders stiffened with the thought of that. She had indeed missed a whole week of lessons and even though her friends had dropped by with her homework and explained what they had done she was still a bit annoyed that she hadn’t got the lessons herself. Potions would be a hell to catch up on and even though both Theo and Blaise gave her their notes she probably would have to practice the potion herself somewhere.

“He apologised. I have no reason to be mad.” She muttered. But she wasn’t sure anymore if she was trying to persuade Daphne or herself from that fact.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

“Come on, sped up!” Blaise grumbled. “If we’re quick we might be able to get some desert at least.”

Theo and Harry sped up, grumbling about Filch who had made them clean the trophy room by hand. They had almost been done when Peeves decided to fuck up their evening and dumped a pile of trash over the trophies so they could start all over again. And now they might not even be in time for desert.

“Stupid Peeves.” Grumbled a stained Theo. He had been standing next to the trophies when the rapping spirit had dumped the trash all over it so he had covered Theo in it as well. The coloured vocabulary that the second year had used had even made the ghost nod in approval.

“Well you have to be fair, it was quite funny.” Blaise said snickering.

Theo shoved the Italian in the wall but that only made Blaise laugh harder. Suddenly Harry heard a very familiar and cold voice.

“ _… rip… tear… kill…”_

He stumbled to a halt and put his hand on the wall, listening in all his might and trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. There was no one to be seen in the hallway except Theo and Blaise who had stopped their little fight once they noticed Harry grabbing the wall.

“What’s going on?” Blaise pulled up a brow as he watched the raven haired boy looking all around him.

“Yeah you look as if…”

“Ssssht!” Harry grumbled, looking around. “It’s that voice again. Listen!”

“ _… soo hungry ….for so long …._ “

“Harry we…”

“Shut up!” He grumbled.

“ _… kill… time to kill._ ”

Harry was sure the voice was growing fainter and that it was moving downstairs. But how was that possible?! He didn’t see anyone pass. A mixture of fear and excitement got a grip of him as he started to run towards the stairs.

“This way!” He yelled at Blaise and Theo who both looked at his back as he took off. They quickly started following him down the stairs towards the second floor.

“Harry…”

“SSHHH!” he shushed them as he strained his ears. Distantly and from around a corner he could hear the voice growing louder and louder.

“ _… I smell blood … I SMELL BLOOD!”_

“He’s gonna kill someone!” He yelled, sprinting down the last flight of steps and running towards the corner he heard the noise coming from, ignoring the bewildered faces of his two friends who quickly ran after him.

“Harry, what was all that about?” Theo asked panting. “I couldn’t hear anything and you just took off.”

A gasp from Blaise stopped Harry from answering Theo’s question.

“Look!” He said, pointing towards a shining glistering on the wall.

“Maybe we better take off.” Theo muttered, looking at the wall with squinted eyes. “If there really is something that’s gonna kill someone we better get a professor to stop him.”

Harry wasn’t listening though and ignored his friends request as he slowly started to move towards the wall. Food high words had been daubed on the wall between two window, shimmering in the light cast by the flaming torches.

**The chamber of secrets has been opened.  
Enemies of the heir beware.**

“I actually don’t wanna ask but what is the thing hanging underneath?” Theo muttered, walking a bit closer. A hand on his shoulder stopped him though and Blaise shook his head.

“Don’t go closer.” He muttered. “It’s Mrs. Norris.”

The Italian was right and as Harry squinted his eyes he could see the caretakers cat hanging at her tail above a pool of water, stiff as a board and her eyes open and staring.

“Let’s go… we don’t want to be found here.” Theo muttered, slowly moving backwards.

It was too late already, though. The noise of hundreds of footsteps climbing the stairs told them the feast had finished and soon enough they were surrounded by students with good filled stomachs who were chatting cheery and delighted about the dancing skeletons and flying bats they had seen in the great hall during the feast. Once they noticed the tree Slytherins in the hallway and the scary sight of the stiff cat their voices died out instantly. Harry spotted Hermione between the twins, pale as a ghost and eyes big focussed on the cat hanging at the torch. The twins pulled her behind them as their eyes searched Harry’s, asking for an explanation. The boy couldn’t give one though, because just at that moment a loud voice sounded through the hall.

“What is going on here? Why are you all standing in the hall?!”

Filch had arrived in the hall, probably triggered by the amount of students just standing there, and was making his way through the crowd. This couldn’t end well.


	9. The writing on the wall

“What’s going on?!” He screamed for a second time, pushing his way through the twins and almost making Hermione end on the ground. It probably was because of the twins their Quidditch reflexes that she didn’t. Filch stopped death in his trail once he noticed Mrs. Norris hanging on the torch.

“My cat! My cat! What happened to my cat!!?” He screamed before his popping eyes fell on Harry and his two friends.

“YOU!” He screeched. “You killed her! I’ll kill you! I’LL K – “ He strode forward, hands outstretched, ready to choke the life out of the raven haired boy. Lucky for Harry, Dumbledore picked just that moment to arrive.

“ARGUS!” He said loudly, making the caretaker freeze in his step. In a moment Dumbledore had strode past the three Slytherins and detached the cat from the torch. A bunch of teachers had followed him and were standing behind the three boys, keeping them from running away.

“Argus, follow me.” Dumbledore spoke. “You too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Zabini, Mr. Nott.”

Lockhart stepped forward eagerly.

“My office is nearest, Headmaster – just upstairs – please feel free – “

“Thank you Gilderoy.” Dumbledore said.

The boys followed their headmaster as Snape, McGonagall and Lockhart followed too. Harry was trying to stay as far away as he could from his DADA teacher and ended up walking next to McGonagall who had her lips pierced in a thin line.

As they entered Lockhart’s darkened office, Harry noticed several pictures of him at the wall, ducking away out of the frame with their hair in crullers. He rolled his eyes at that before focussing on Dumbledore who had put Mrs. Norris on the table. While Lockhart buzzed around him like a fly, the three Slytherins sought out a spot out of the candlelight but making sure they could see everything. All three boys noticed how both Dumbledore and McGonagall were examining the cat from a very close proximity with Lockhart buzzing around them very excited and giving the wildest theories. Snape wasn’t near the table though, standing behind his three students with something that almost could be seen as a mocking smile. He mumbled something under his breath and all three boys were sure it was about Lockhart being the greatest fool ever.

In one of  the corners, Filch was sitting with his head in his hands. He was sobbing uncontrollably and even though Harry detested him with the whole of his heart, he felt sorry for the man. He saw Theo’s eyes resting on the man as well while Blaise was looking at the table where Dumbledore and McGonagall were standing, his brows in a frown. At last Dumbledore straightened his back and looked at the caretaker.

“She’s not dead, Argus.” He spoke.

“Not dead?” Filch asked confused. “Then… why is she al frozen and stiff?”

“She’s been petrified.” Dumbledore spoke. In the background they heard Lockhart say that he knew it and Blaise grumbled an insult under his breath, earning himself a soft slap against the back of his head. “But how I don’t know.”

“Ask them!” Filch said, glaring at the three Slytherins. “They must have done it as revenge for their detention.”

“No second year could’ve done this.” Dumbledore said firmly. “It takes Dark magic of the most advanced – “

“They must have done it! You saw the writing on the wall! They must have found out that I’m … That I’m a squib.” His pouchy face started to go purple, his eyes narrowed and spit flying out of his mouth while he kept ranting.

Blaise couldn’t keep himself from snickering at that and Harry frowned, giving him a confused look.

“What in Salazar’s name is a squib?” He muttered. All eyes turned to him and he paled. Apparently he had said it a tad louder than planned.

“Rubbish! You’re a Slytherin. Of course you know what a Squib is! You must have found my quickspell letter and …”

“If I might speak, headmaster.” Snape broke up Filches tirade. “Like Mr. Filch just pointed out, my students were on their way back from a detention. I’m sure they were just on the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“I agree with Severus.” Professor McGonagall spoke up. “I gave those boys the detention myself and they had to clean the trophy-room. They must have been on their way down to the feast.”

“My cat has been petrified and these three brats were there! I want to see some form of punishment!” Filch screeched angrily.

“Don’t worry, Argus.” Dumbledore spoke. “Mrs. Norris can be cured. Professor Sprout was able to get her hands on some mandrakes. The moment they are fully grown we will be able to make a potion to cure her.”

“I’ll make it!” Lockhart butted in. “I must’ve done it a hundred times, I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep – “

“Excuse me…” Snape said coldly. “Last time I checked I was the potion master at this school.”

An awkward silence followed and the three Slytherins looked at each other.

“You may go to your common room.” Dumbledore finally spoke.

They didn’t wait a moment longer and sped out.

“What happened?” The three boys jumped and looked around themselves to find where the voice was coming from. Hermione’s head popped up from behind the statue of a one eyed witch and Harry looked at her in confusion.

“How did you?” Theo worded their confusion.

“The twins showed me this hidden passage so I could wait for you guys. “ The girl explained. “They expect one of you to bring me up though…” She mentioned in an afterthought. “They think that something killed Mrs. Norris and don’t trust me getting back by myself.” She scoffed. “Totally not true of course. As if I can’t look after myself.”

“They were right.”

All eyes turned to the Italian who just had spoken those words.

“What Blaise means…” Theo spoke quickly, foreseeing any trouble that could be caused by those words. “Is that, even though you’re perfectly fine of looking after yourself, we would all sleep better if you let someone bring you up to the tower. You just came out of the hospital wing after all.”

The glare the girl had wanted to give to their Italian friend had melted away immediately the moment Theo had spoken.

“Alright. But you better tell me everything about what happened when you guys escort me upstairs.”

So that’s what the boys did. They told her about the voices – Of course you had to go after mysterious voices Harry! – how they had found Mrs. Norris and what had happened afterwards. How she only had been petrified – Peculiar! I really should look into that in the library. – and how Snape and Lockhart almost had gotten in a fight.

“That was the full story.” Harry said, stopping in front of the portrait. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Please, don’t go walking in the corridors alone.”

Hermione put her hand on Harry’s arm and smiled.

“I’ll try and don’t go out alone.” She said encouraging. “Now, go to your common room before anyone finds out that you’re still out after curfew. You have the cloak?”

Harry nodded and pulled it out, covering himself and the other Slytherins.

“See you guys tomorrow. And then you have to fill me in how it’s possible Harry was the only one hearing the voices.” Hermione said, before muttering the password and entering the Gryffindor common room.

“Explain how it’s possible?” Blaise scoffed. “You’re Harry bloody Potter. Of course you are able to hear voices no one else hears. Don’t think we can ever come up with an explanation for that.”

The three boys took off towards the dungeons to sleep a night over everything that had happened on another eventful Halloween.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

The next few days, the attack on Mrs. Norris was the only thing the students of Hogwarts talked about. Not a surprise, seeing that Filch did everything to keep it fresh in their mind. He patrolled the place where the attack had happened, as if he thought the attacker would come back. None of the Slytherins understood why.

“Must be a default in his brain.” Scoffed Blaise. “As if the attacker would come back with a banner with on it written ‘I am the Heir of Slytherin. Expel me!’”

It weren’t the moments he patrolled the crime scene that annoyed the students though… No, it were the moments he was anywhere else and sneaked up on students, trying to give them detentions for rubbish like ‘breathing to loudly. And more often than not, the Slytherins were the victims.

Luckily for the Slytherins, they had something to cheer them up when they felt down because of this injustice. Hermione had managed to get a copy of the picture Collin Creevy had made of Weasley and  Finnegan when they had turned as round as bludgers and the Slytherins had enjoyed them a lot.

“We might have to agree that the girls were more successful with their payback.” Said Theo, as he took another satisfied look at the picture.

“And why would we agree to something like that?” The Weasley twins had joined the second years in their fifth journey to the library that week.

“Well, they didn’t get caught obviously.” Theo said as a matter of fact.

“Although we have to agree.” Fred spoke.

“That their joke was rather funny.” George added.

“That doesn’t mean.”

“That they were more.”

“Successful.” They ended together.

“At least you have to agree that we got away with it without any detention.” Daphne said smug.

“For you, blonde beauty, everything.” George said, winking at the second year who got the crimson creeping up her cheeks.

“Mione, are you almost done?” Harry asked, walking over towards the brunette who had her hands in her hair.

“It’s not here. Again.” She grumbled.

“What are you looking for, Mione?” Theo walked over towards the brunette as well.

“Hogwarts a history.” The girl stated.

“Why would you need that book?” Theo asked confused.

“The same reason everyone else wants it. To look up the story of the chamber of secrets.” She answered as if it was a matter of fact.

“Why didn’t you just ask me if you wanted to know the story?” Daphne asked confused.

“You know the story?” Hermione asked confused.

“I love history.” Daphne stated. “Of course I know the story.”

“Then why aren’t you telling that story yet?” Blaise asked annoyed. “I want to know the full story now as well.”

“Fine, fine.” Huffed Daphne. “If you guys sit down I’ll tell you the story how my mom told me. As all the stories about Salazar Slytherin, the one I am gonna tell you is a bit different than the one professor Binns would tell you for example. This is the story how it has been passed down for generations of Slytherins.” She made herself comfortable in the chair she was sitting in and so did all the others. The Weasley twins were leaning against the chair back where Hermione was sitting while Harry and Theo sat down in the other chairs. Blaise just put his feet up the table but quickly got them down after Hermione gave him a glare. The twins who noticed this snickered softly. “Like we all know, Hogwarts has four founders. Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. It is well known that the four founders had an argument before Slytherin took off. I told you guys that story, right?”

“Yeah, when you were explaining how dark magic got a bad name.” Hermione agreed.

“Okay, what I left out is the reason for the argument. You see, Slytherin didn’t feel very tempted to accept muggleborns in the school. Some say, he didn’t want them because he thought of them as lesser blood, others say that he didn’t want to put the school at risk. The reason we might never know for sure. What we do know is that the rumours go that before Slytherin left, he left a secret chamber here in the castle. According to the Gaunt family, direct descendants from Morgana and Merlin, he build that chamber to rid the school of those who are from lesser blood. But according to the Silvertail family, that’s my mom’s side of the family you know, he made the chamber to bring the students there if the school would ever be under attack. Which was a very smart idea, seeing that that treat was very real in the time they were living.”

“What do the Silvertails have to do with Salazar Slytherin?” George asked.

“Well, the first known Silvertail twins did marry Castor and Pollux, Morgana’s sons, after all.” Daphne explained.

“Oh…” He muttered.

Harry was confused about something else though.

“How would they rid the school from those of “lesser blood” with a chamber?” He wondered.

“Well, the chamber was used to house a monster.” Blaise piped in.

“What?” Both Hermione and Harry almost screamed. The twins just pulled up a brow and snickered at the two second years.

“Yeah, sure. Just ruin my story.” Daphne pouted. “I wanted to tell them about the monster in the chamber.”

“Well, maybe you can tell us a bit more about that monster. Anything known about that? Please don’t tell me he went for a giant ass snake? That would be so cliché.” Fred joked.

“Well, what the monster is, is sadly enough unknow. And how it’s able to survive without any food too. Salazar, we don’t even know where the chamber is.” Daphne said a tad disappointed. “I mean, every headmaster has looked for it, and some historic, like my mom, gave it a shot too. No one was able to find it though. Most people think it is because Slytherin’s one true heir didn’t come to this school yet.”

“A lot of rubbish, if you ask me.” Theo commented. “Fifty years ago, the chamber has been opened. My dad said some girl even died. Didn’t gave any other details, though.” He complained.

“Yeah… I suppose all heirs of Slytherin can open the chamber.” Daphne agreed. “I am surprised the chamber has been opened though. Everyone thought the secret of its location had died  out with the last Gaunt leaving the land of the living.”

The other students let that sink in for a bit before George spoke up.

“You know…. Why aren’t you the one teaching history of magic? You at least keep us awake.” 

That did crack everyone up and laughter was heard in the library, earning themselves a glare from Madam Pince.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

“I am getting so bloody tired of all those bloody Gryffindors blaming us for Filches bad mood.” Theo grumbled as he painfully rolled his shoulder before looking down at his cloak and pulled up his nose. “Ugh, spider.” He muttered.

Hermione, who had fell down on her bum when some fourth year Gryffindors had pushed the group out of their way, quickly shuffled away from the wall Theo had bumped into when she noticed the trail of spiders climbing up on it, out of the window. Blaise helped the girl up from the floor and looked in the direction of the spiders.

“Weird.” He muttered. “Have you ever seen spiders behave like this?” He asked the brunette who was dusting of her skirt.

Hermione looked back at the wall, being shortly followed by Theo who tucked his brown hair away. He really needed a haircut, it was getting too long, noticed Hermione before entirely focussing on the spiders. This really was peculiar behaviour.

“It’s almost as if they’re scared from something.” She muttered thoughtfully. “What do you guys think?” She asked Harry and Daphne who had been quiet till then.

“I don’t really care about spiders.” Came Daphne’s voice, a bit squeakier than normal. When Hermione heard Blaise chuckle she decided to turn around and was just in time to see her friend hiding behind Harry who gave her an amused smile.

“Let me guess, not a big fan of spiders?” He said, pulling up a brow.

“For once, you do pay attention.” The blonde huffed. She seemed much paler than normal as she tried to stay as far away as possible from the window. Theo, who was still standing next to the spiders got a devious grin on his face before locking eyes with Blaise.

“What is it that scares you so much, dear?” Blaise asked, walking towards the girl  from the right. Theo who was closing in from the left had something in his hand.

“Is it the fact they’re so hairy?” He asked as he opened his hand and revealed a living spider he had gripped from the wall.

“Bloody hell!” Daphne screeched as she slapped Theo’s hand and backed away as far as possible, not paying attention to where she was going, expecting to maybe hit the wall but instead falling into Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom who’s door hadn’t been closed for some reason.

The three boys started laughing, Theo quickly getting rid of the spider he had been holding and apologising when he noticed the girls glare. Hermione moved forward and helped the blonde up from the floor.

“It seems as if you girls like the floor today.” Harry chuckled, getting annoyed looks from both girls who didn’t appreciate him laughing with them.

“Oh, it’s just you.” They heard the wailing voice of Myrtle.

“Hello to you too, Myrtle.” Hermione said dryly. “How have you been lately?”

“Miserable! Peeves is making fun of me all the time and now I missed an awesome show when someone finally took out that Norris cat because of it.”

“We’re not gonna get any clues off her.” Muttered Blaise.

“What are you whispering there?” Myrtle moaned. “Are you gossiping about me just right in front of my nose?” She wailed.

Blaise, who saw a lot of drama coming rolled his eyes.

“I asked if we could leave the door. If anyone passes they’re probably gonna think we want to peek in the toilets to see some girls.” He quickly made up.

Harry and Theo agreed quickly and not waiting for an answer they quickly walked back towards the window to wait for the girls.  

“What are you three troublemakers doing here?” The annoying voice of the one and only Percy Weasley made the three second years look up.

“We’re waiting for our friends so we can go down for dinner, Weasley.” Blaise spat at the redhead.

“Are you sure you’re not here to just cause some more trouble?” The prefect asked doubtfully.

“Hi guys, sorry to keep you waiting.” Daphne said, flinging her arm around Harry’s shoulder.

Hermione snuggled in between Theo and Blaise and gave her housemate a questioning look.

“What’s up, Percy?” She asked innocently.

“Nothing.” He huffed. “Go down to the Great hall. Dinner will be served soon.”

“How in Salazar’s name can he be family of the twins.” Complained Theo, before everyone took off.


	10. The rogue bludger

It was the Saturday of the first match against Gryffindor and Harry awoke earlier than the others, breathing heavily as the images of the nightmare he had had drifted away out of his mind. He looked at the clock in their room and sighed. 4 o’clock in the morning. Great! Going back to sleep was something he could forget. He decided to sneak out of the room, quickly changing in his robes and grabbing his broom. He looked over his shoulder to his sleeping roommates. Malfoy had his curtains drawn around his bed, like every night. Crabbe and Goyle were snoring loudly while Blaise seemed to be tossing in his bed. Harry frowned, that was a first. His eyes drifted to Theo’s bed and he saw the boy exhaling deeply. It seemed as if he had a nightmare free night for once.

When he entered the common room, his broom over his shoulder, he noticed Flint and Kali sleeping on the couches, their books all scattered over the table. He pulled up a brow, it seemed as if his team captain had had a late study night. He sneaked past the two sleeping seventh years as well and walked over to the Quidditch pitch so he could fly a bit before the game. It was still dark outside, no moon or stars to be seen because of the cloudy sky.

“That promises.” He muttered.

He dropped his stuff in the changing rooms and quickly took a shower before putting on his gear. By the time he took off in the air, it was half four. He decided to just practise the basics, his spins, diving and looping before going for something more difficult. His team might not doubt the fact that they could win from Gryffindor, Harry had seen them play and knew they had been practicing harder than ever. With Malfoy instead of Kali, the Slytherin team wasn’t perfectly balanced yet. Sure, the blond prat was a talented player, if he could just remove his head from his arse for a moment and wouldn’t be so focussed on himself!

“Potter, get your ass down and eat your breakfast!” Adrian Pucey yelled up in the air at half six, after a good two hour work out. 

“Adrian.” The boy greeted as he landed next to him.

“How much did you sleep?” The fourth year asked his younger teammate, looking him up and down.

“Not much.” The raven haired boy admitted as his piercing, green eyes looked the older boy up and down. Adrian’s black hair looked messy and he had bags under his brown eyes. “Did you actually get any sleep?”

The fourth year shrugged his shoulders.

“No, not really.” He ushered the second year towards the great hall. “But that’s not your problem. Just make sure you get that snitch today.”

Harry sat down in between Theo and Blaise who both looked tired and a tad grumpy.

“How is it that every time when you guys have to wake up early, we have to do that as well?” Blaise complained.

“Just be happy I didn’t woke you up at 4.” Harry answered cheerfully.

“What in Salazar’s name were you doing up at 4 in the morning, Potter?” Malfoy asked, holding back a yawn.

“Making sure I wouldn’t be sleepy anymore during the game, Malfoy.” Harry answered, mocking his cocky way.

“Just make sure you don’t fall asleep because you haven’t slept enough, Potter. It would be a shame if you slept through the game and missed the snitch.” Malfoy sneered.

“Stop it the two of you!” Flint sneered. “I really am not up to your stupid behaviour. You two are getting along from now on, or you can leave.” He grabbed an apple of the table and stormed away.

“Good job, boys.” Adrian sighed.

“I’ll go after him.” Kali muttered.

The two second years looked shocked in the direction where their captain had vanished. They had never expected him to lash out like that to them. Kali gave them a small smile before running after the seventh year.

“Don’t take him too serious.” Adrian tried to cheer the second years up. “Marcus has a hard time right now. He underestimated the work he would have to do. Kali is doing everything she can to help him through. We just have to make his task as easy as possible.”

Adrian got up as well and walked away, probably following Kali and Flint. Hermione and Daphne walked over just when he left and the four boys saw him stop for a moment, talking to the two. When he hugged Hermione, all four of them pulled up a brow. What just happened?

“The poor boy.” Hermione said as she sat down next to Harry at the table.

“What just happened?” It was Malfoy who asked her in surprise.

“Mione promised to help Flint and Adrian figure out how to combine school and quidditch in the best way.” Daphne explained. “Adrian has been up almost the whole night to figure out when they could have the field without anyone of the team having classes or overlapping with other teams. He wanted to help Flint but he had to admit he has enough to do with school and the real quidditch matches. Oh, and looking after the younger players who disappear.” She gave Harry a quirked brow. “Where were you anyway this morning?”

“Out on the field.” He said quietly, still a bit shaken about how the morning had gone afterwards.

“Well, I hope you’re ready to get your ass beaten then.” Hermione said cheerfully, lifting up the heavy mood immediately as all Slytherins argued her on the fact. Under the table she gave Daphne a sneaky low five, having succeeded in their goal.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

“You two are gonna be on your best behaviour.” Flint said sternly to both Malfoy and Harry. “I am so bloody tired of the endless arguing. From now on you’re gonna work as a team! If you don’t I’m gonna talk to your teachers to make sure you will.” Flint threatened.

Adrian pulled up a brow and gave their captain a small nudge.

“And… I’m sure you two will prove why you’re such valuable member of the team.” He said, glaring at Adrian who obviously wanted him to apologise. Both second years got the message and when they followed their team out on the field, Derrick and Bole gave them thumbs up.

“Don’t worry, Malfoy.” Bole said amused. “He’s not gonna kick your precious ass of the team.

“Believe it or not, the two of you are good enough for this team.” Derrick agreed.

Both Harry and Malfoy gave each other a small nod. They agreed to a truce without words and even stood next to each other while Flint shook hands with Wood. It was obviously that their rivalry was still as strong as ever, seeing that their handshake was firmer than necessary, something that happened a lot with Flint. Not only the Gryffindors thought it to be their duty to defeat Slytherin. The Weasley twins gave Harry a quick wink when they mounted their brooms.

“On my whistle!” Said Madam Hooch. “Three… two… one!”

All fourteen players rose in the air, accompanied by the cheers of the crowd. Harry was higher than all the other and looked around. The speed of the Slytherin team was clearly visible as Adrian already had taken charge of the game, passing the Quaffle toward Malfoy who caught it easily. He couldn’t really keep an eye on the chaser’s game though, seeing that a heavy, black bludger came pelting towards him and he barely managed to duck it. It came so close that he felt it ruffle his hair.

“Keep your head in the game, Potter!” Bole said, swinging the bludger with all his might towards Angelina Johnson who had her back to them. It would have been a clean – dirty – shot if the bludger would have gone in the direction it was supposed to go, but it took a U-turn and came straight back for Harry who ducked it with a looping, making room for Derrick to hit it as hard as he could in Lebowski’s direction. Again, the Bludger didn’t want to hear about going away from Harry and swerved back towards the Slytherin  as if it was a boomerang, aiming for his head.

“Bloody hell!” Harry cursed as he took off towards the other side of the field where Bole was waiting for the bludger. The raven haired boy took a quick turn towards the right and Bole swung his bat with all his might, hitting it to the left.

“That should be enough.” The third year beater said through gritted teeth as he watched the bludger go in the direction of Fred Weasley who saw it coming. The moment he wanted to hit the bludger to go back in Harry’s direction, the bludger did it itself, making Fred miss the ball completely. The Weasley gave a big frown and looked to where the bludger was going, noticing Harry duck it once again. When he saw the ball taking another U-turn he caught up to what was happening though.

“Someone tempered with this bloody bludger!” Bole yelled angrily as he hit it away once again.

“Ask for a fucking time out!” Derrick said scowling as he hit the bludger away again. Harry could only agree. In between the two beaters he couldn’t go looking for the snitch and even though Slytherin was leading with 60 to 20, he knew that if he wouldn’t catch that snitch they would lose. Above all the shit that was going on, it also started to rain.

In the end it was Fred who signalled for the time-out, seeing that both Slytherin beaters had too much on their hands.

They quickly sped to the ground, all three of them still ducking the bludger.

“What is going on?!” Flint roared. “Where were the two of you when those twins hit Adrian in the shoulder? Or when they stopped Malfoy from scoring?!”

“We were 20 feet above you guys, trying to stop the other bludger from murdering Potter over here!” Derrick said annoyed.

“Someone has tempered with it. The fucking ball hasn’t gone for anyone else than Potter. The Weasley even missed the ball because it took off towards him again.” Bole complained.

“Those bludgers have been locked away since our last practice and I doubt those lions have anything to do with it if the Weasley missed the bludger.” Flint said thoughtfully.

“Listen,” said Harry as he saw  Madam Hooch approaching. “With them two flying around me I won’t be able to catch the snitch unless it flies straight up my sleeve. You two go back to the team and let me deal with the rogue one.”

“Are you thick, Potter?” Malfoy scowled. “Now is not the time to play bloody Gryffindor.”

“It will take of your head and where are we then?” Miles Bletchley, their keeper, spoke up.

“If we stop now we have to forfeit and I won’t want to lose against those Gryffindors. It’s hard enough already living down the heir of Slytherin crap.”

Flint gave Harry a thoughtful look before looking over towards the referee who was coming closer and closer.

“You can’t be serious?!” Adrian spoke up, looking at Flint in disbelief. “This is all your fault, Marcus! Telling the boy to prove he was worth being on the team. As if he hasn’t done that often enough.”

“Ready to resume playing?” Madam Hooch asked as she joined the team.

Flint looked at Harry, leaving the decision with him.

“We’ll use it in our advantage.” Harry said.

“We’re ready to play again, yeah.” Flint said. “You guys heard Harry. You focus on the team and he deals with the rogue one.”

“Kali is so gonna kill you when she finds out.” Adrian scoffed angrily before taking of in the air.

“You better not get killed, Potter.” Flint said as he put a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“I won’t.” Harry said, before following the other players in the air. The moment he did he heard the bludger coming after him. He decided for a different tactic than before the time out. Killing the enemy wasn’t gonna work. And dodging was only good for so long. If you can’t kill it, use it in your advantage. He couldn’t remember if it had been Theo or Hermione who had told him that but he decided to take the thought in count. He set eyes on Alicia Spinnet, the chaser who was closest and flew straight towards her, just before he was gonna hit her he dived down.

“Try not to get hit.” He warned the girl who’s eyes got big when she saw what was coming behind the raven haired boy. Bludgers were heavy and couldn’t change directions as easily as the players could. Luckily for Spinnet, she was a skilled quidditch player and followed Harry in the dive. Not expecting the bludger to follow them down, even though Fred had mentioned something about a rogue bludger, she still got hit in her shoulder when the bludger took off at Harry again and had to go through her to get to him. Proud that his tactic worked, he decided to repeat it, making the most marvellous and silly mover while doing so. Katie Bell got hit in the back of her broom when Harry performed the same trick on her. Angelina Johnson had to break of her chase for the Quaffle when Harry flew in front of her with the bludger short on his heels and Fred Weasley was finally able to hit the black ball when Harry dived under him.

“Can you stop taking out my team, Potter?!” Wood yelled, not being able to stop himself from being impressed by the inventive way the boy was handling the situation. By now the whole school knew something was up with the bludger and Lee even started to focus on Harry’s actions, warning his housemates when the second year came flying into their direction. It was because of Wood’s complaint that Harry spotted the snitch, flying next to his ear, going unnoticed by the Gryffindor captain.

“I can try.” He said, before flying towards him. “But if I were you I would duck!” with the rain clouding his vision, he stretched out his arm in the direction he had seen the snitch. It was that moment that Wood knew what was happening.

“Lebowski, get your ass up here!” He screamed. But the Gryffindor seeker was too far away. With a proud smirk on his face, his hand closed around the golden snitch and he gave Wood a cocky smirk. Having to pay for the rude antics by hanging still too long and getting hit by the rogue bludger in his shoulder, hard. Luckily it was the other arm than the one he had caught the snitch with, because he lost all feeling in the arm immediately as he heard the loud crunching of his bones. With only his legs clutching to the broom and a rogue bludger being after him, the dizziness that followed the broken arm was not a good thing. He tried to get to the ground as quickly as possible but couldn’t keep the bludger from hitting him in the back, kicking him of his broom and sending him in a dive to the ground. Lucky for him he wasn’t that high up in the air and Wood had the decency to grab the collar of his uniform and break his fall that way, while dodging the bludger at the same time, cursing loudly. By the time both players hit the mud with a loud splash, all four beaters were around them hitting the bludger away before wordlessly deciding how they would get the bludger back in its box. When he opened his eyes again, Harry noticed that he must’ve fainted for a moment because instead of the four beaters, it was Lockhart hovering above him.

“No, not you!” He brought out faintly. His eyes drifted around him and he noticed his friends standing at the right side. He must have a concussion though, seeing that Daphne was totally white. Even her hair seemed to have lost its colour.

“Doesn’t know what he’s saying!” Lockhart said loudly to the anxious crowd around him. “Not to worry Harry, I’ll fix your arm.”

“Step away from my seeker, Professor.” Flint said darkly. “I think this is more of a job for Madam Pomfrey.”

“Don’t give me that tone, young man!” Lockhart spat at Flint who rolled his eyes at the Professor who was rolling up his sleeves. “It’s a really easy spell, Harry. It’ll be done in a minute.”

While his professor twirled his wand around and aimed it at Harry’s arm, the boy tried to get away but failed. The moment the wand pointed at his arm, an unpleasant feeling went through Harry’s arm from his aching back to his arm towards his hand. He didn’t dare to look anymore and when he heard the angry shout of their head girl he knew something terrible had happened. The fact that he couldn’t feel anything in his arm anymore only made that feeling stronger.

“What a bloody fool are you!” The head girl yelled, losing her temper. “You haven’t healed his arm! You’ve removed his bones.”

“Oh well… That happens sometimes.” Lockhart said dryly.

What happened next went passed Harry, seeing that he passed out again, catching his friends attention immediately.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

When Harry opened his eyes once more, he was in the hospital wing with a fuming Madam Pomfrey hovering over him.

“You should’ve brought him to me immediately, miss Knight. I can fix broken bones in a second… making them grow back though.”

“Well, I’ve tried to stop Lockhart but the fool wouldn’t listen.” She scowled.

“You will be able to grow them back, right?” Harry asked a tad scared.

“Of course I can, darling.” The old medic-witch spoke warmly. “But it will hurt a lot and you’ll have to stay the night.”

After Kali had made sure Harry was gonna be alright, she took off, muttering something about killing Flint if she would get her hands around his neck. The girls waited outside of the curtain that was drown around the bed while Blaise and Theo helped Harry in his pyjamas which was a lot of work with the boneless arm that didn’t want to work with them.

“Please tell me you’re not gonna defend Lockhart on this thing, Hermione.” Blaise grumbled as he finally got the arm in the sleeve and made room so Theo could button up the top.

“I won’t.” The girl said. “Everyone can make mistakes but this was a big one… especially for someone who has done as much as he says he has.” She muttered. “Daphne, when were you planning on telling us you were a Metamorphmagus?” She asked, changing the subject.

“Metamorphmagus?” Harry asked confused, sitting back down on the bed and noticing that Madam Pomfrey already had healed his back.

“Someone who can change their appearance at will.” Daphne explained.

“Or like today, by accident.” Theo added.

“So on the field she actually had white hair?!” Harry asked confused.

“Yeah. You scared the living crap out of me.” The girl said, walking around the curtain together with Hermione. Madam Pomfrey was getting the potion she needed to fix Harry so they still had a bit time to listen to Daphne’s explanation.  “And about the Metamorphmagus stuff. I’m happy with how I look so I kinda forgot I am one. It happens sometimes. It’s when I see my sis try out everything that I’m reminded I am one too.”

“Hmmm, I would take advantage of being one.” Blaise admitted without hesitation. “Just imagine rooming round the halls like Dumbledore and saying the weirdest stuff, freaking out the Weasley prefect.”

That idea made them all chuckle and that’s how Madam Pomfrey found them when she walked around the curtain with a small bottle in her hand that was labelled Skele-grow.

“You’re in for a rough night, my boy. Growing back bones stings a lot.”

So was taking the Skele-grow harry found out. It burned in his mouth and made him cough and splutter. Blaise gave him a glass of water after Madam Pomfrey had walked away again, trying not to laugh at the disgusted face his friend was making.

“You did play a good game though.” Theo complimented him. “Using the bludger in your advantage was bloody brilliant!”

“I have to agree with that, even though you totally slaughtered my team.” Hermione said with a soft smile. “I even heard Wood whine to the twins about you not ending up in Gryffindor because he would’ve won that Quidditch cup ages ago if he had you. Something Lebowski wasn’t happy with.”

“Hah, look at that. Gryffindor already trying to steal you away.” Daphne chuckled. “You made a name out there Harry.”

“Yeah… I’m wondering who I have to thank for that. Who tempered with that bludger?” Harry said thoughtfully. “I mean, I would’ve said Weasley…. But he isn’t advanced enough for that.”

“Agreed on that.” Muttered Hermione with a soft scowl.

“And the one person who has something against me and is advanced enough, wouldn’t be stupid enough to do it.”

“Didn’t know you thought Draco was that smart, Harry.” Theo said, reading through the lines.

“Please, I don’t like him but I’m not stupid. Hermione has been complaining about you and Malfoy almost beating her when we got our results, remember.” Harry teased the brunette.

“Yeah, almost is the key-word there.” She said, winking at Theo.

Just that moment the Weasley twins stormed into the hospital room, carrying pumpkin juice and tarts inn their arms, dropping the tarts all over Harry’s bed.

“I know we’ve lost.” Fred said cheerfully.

“But the flying you did today is something we have to celebrate!” George added, picking up Daphne from the chair she was sitting on and placing her on his lap so he could sit down.

“Bloody Weasley!” The girl grumbled, slapping his chest but still staying put on his lap as her cheeks turned crimson red.

“Oh come on, Daphne!” Theo whined. “Do you call that trying? Put some backbone in it!”

“Very funny…” Harry grumbled. “Bone jokes”

“Oh come on, Harry!” Fred said, walking slowly over towards Hermione. “Don’t you have a funny bone?”

“Don’t even think about it.” Was all Hermione said, not being distracted by the puns Fred was making. She had noticed him walking over towards her and wasn’t planning on giving up her seat.

“Oh come on, Mione.” The Weasley pouted. “Try to cheer a sad lad up by letting him sit down in your chair.” He tried, giving her his best puppy eyes. “I’m bone tired!”

“Keep dreaming, Weasley.” She scoffed, but the amused glint in her eyes was an indication she didn’t really mind. “Your puns aren’t that humerus!”

“I see what you did there!” He said cheerfully. “But, I couldn’t help but notice that your ticklish, so if you don’t want to do it the easy way, it’ll have to go the hard way.”

“Bone hard!” George said, giving Harry a side slopped grin. The boy seemed to be on the verge of hiding his face in his pillow. In the end it was  the hysterical laughing from the Gryffindor girl who tried to get away from Fred that reminded Madam Pomfrey that she still had visitors with the young Slytherin and she quickly kicked them out, telling them the boy was in need in rest, seeing that he had over 30 bones to grow back. So when his friends left, Harry was left alone with nothing to distract him from the pain in his arm.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

Hours and hours later, during the visit from Dobby that Harry was getting, something else kept the whole Slytherin community interested in their common room. Kali had finally gotten hold of Flint and it promised to be the show of their life. Some said Flint had been hiding on his broom so he didn’t have to talk to Knight, others said he had dived in the Black lake to get away from her wrath. One thing was for sure though, he sure as hell had needed an invisibility cloak when he tried to sneak back into the common room because Knight had been waiting for him, in her regular spot, fuming an ice cold anger.

Daphne was the first one to see Flint trying to sneak into the castle, drenched. It was obvious he had been outside in the rain all day. The whole of Slytherin had stayed up to see the confrontation between their favourite head girl and Quidditch captain happening. Bets were placed on how it would end. Leading were hot sex and Flint ending up in the hospital wing.

“Where have you been?!” Kali asked in a cold almost whisper.

The common room had gone dead silent.

“Outside.” Was his answer. He was solemnly focussed on the furious blonde in the couch.

“So you haven’t even checked up on Harry?” She asked coldly.

“Madam Pomfrey didn’t let me in.” He answered, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. “I just dropped by.”

“Obviously.” She answered coldly. “He’s hopefully asleep, letting all the bones in his arm grow back thanks to you.”

“That wasn’t me! Don’t you dare blame me for Lockhart’s mistake.” He was growing angry now as well.

“You let him play a BLOODY GRYFFINDOR!” The head girl said, her voice starting to raise as her anger got stronger. “You send him in the field while you knew there was a bloody bludger out there trying to kill him. KILL HIM, Marcus!”

“He CHOSE to be on the field, Kali.” He growled. “I am not gonna stop him if he wants to play. Especially because we won!”

“HE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!” The head girl roared. “You are his captain. You should try and stop him.”

“And let him blame himself for losing against Gryffindor?! You know the boy!”

Kali had stood up from the couch and walked in Flint’s direction.

“I do Know him yeah.” She hissed at him. “And you should’ve protected him against himself instead of letting your pride stand in the way.” She pulled up her wand and the Slytherins held their breath, half of them hoping she would hex him into oblivion so they could inn their money. To everyone’s surprise, except Diana, Devin and Daphne who got a knowing smile on their lips, she used a wordless drying spell. “I had expected more of you, Marcus.” She muttered. Before taking off towards her room.

“Damn.” He grumbled. “Kali! Kali get back here, Salazar!” He quickly ran after her but she was already up the stairs, making flint shove down on them as he had ran up them without thinking.

“It’ll turn out alright, Marcus.” Adrian said, helping his team captain up. “Just let her sleep and talk tomorrow.

“Okay, fun is over!” Devin suddenly yelled, knowing how much Flint cared about his sister and knowing he probably would break down. It was their first full blown argument and they weren’t even dating officially. “Everyone up to bed! We claim the common room tonight.”

The younger years knew better than arguing and even though the little group of friends tried to blend in the chairs, Diana kicked them out too when she noticed them. Blaise, Theo and Draco were talking animatedly about what just had happened.

“So, do you think this argument was only about Harry?” Blaise asked thoughtfully.

“No idea.” Theo confessed. “She does care a lot about him though. She almost hexed Lockhart when he did that to him.”

“Yeah,” Draco muttered thoughtfully. “Flint is lucky she likes him though.”

“Why?” His two friends asked curiously.

“Remember that I told you Kali is a cousin off me? A second cousin if I’m not mistaken. She takes a lot after grandma Hope.” The boy chuckled. “Dad has told me stories about Grandma actually hexing some guy’s balls of because he was bullying her friend. I have seen our lovely head girl threaten boys with it and there is a story about  her actually doing it… But I haven’t figured out yet if that’s true.”

“Ow.” Both Theo and Blaise said, cringing.

“Ow indeed.” Malfoy muttered.

With that nice story in their head, they finally decided to go to sleep. Theo and Blaise so they could visit Harry first thing the next morning, and Draco because he was gonna check up on his cousin. She was family after all.


	11. The elf revelation

“You mean to tell me, that the rogue bludger was the house-elves doing?” Blaise asked annoyed.

“Yes. Dobby came to my bed yesterday and told me he did it to protect me for what was in the chamber.” Harry said through gritted teeth.

Their little group was seated in a corner of the library, talking in hushed tones so Madam Pince wouldn’t overhear them. Harry had told them everything that had happened last night, starting with telling them about Collin who had been petrified, before explaining them what Dobby had told him. Hermione had been pretty quiet for the whole time, keeping an eye on Theo and Blaise who had been behaving odd the moment Harry had mentioned Dobby’s name. just now again, Blaise stiffened when Harry talked about the elf and Theo hadn’t looked any of them in the eye the entire time.

“Can you two please tell us what you know?!” she finally said, letting out an annoyed huff and startling the Slytherins by surprise.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Hermione.” Blaise said at the same time as Theo said:

“We don’t know nothing.”

“She didn’t mention anyone’s name.” Daphne said coldly, catching up on the observation Hermione had made.

“Spit it out you dipshits.” Hermione said dryly. She didn’t expect any trouble, both boys knew they were caught red handed and even though Harry looked a bit confused, he had caught up that his two friends were keeping something from him.

“Theo? Blaise?” He asked confused.

“It’s nothing, probably just coincidence.” Blaise grumbled.

“I’m sure he has nothing to do with it. He would never be so stupid.” Theo added.

“Or inventive.” Blaise said in an afterthought.

“You know who’s elf it is, don’t you…” Daphne stated.

“Well, we know someone who has an elf called Dobby…. And the elf always caused problems even though he is his favourite one.” Blaise said hesitantly.

“It’s Malfoy’s elf, isn’t it?” Harry said softly, counting one and one together. There was only one person those two would agree on not to be as stupid as try and kill him during a quidditch game. Salazar it had been his own words he wouldn’t be that stupid.

“Go and get him.” Hermione said bluntly. “It’s easy enough to find out.”

The four Slytherins looked at the brunette in surprise. It was the bluntness she stated the idea with that caught them off guard. Of course, asking Draco if he knew anything was the logic thing to do but if the elf was doing stuff behind the back of its family, how would they know if it really was the Malfoy elf.

“Easy to find out? Blimey Hermione, I’m not sure you thought this through. That darn elf is working behind the back of its family. Drake probably knows nothing about it.” Blaise said carefully, not really wanting to insult the witches intelligence.

“He could just call for the elf and ask him.” Hermione said as a matter of fact.

“Of course….” Daphne muttered. “Draco is Dobby’s master. He has to show up if he calls him.”

“It was rather stupid of us not to think of that…” Theo muttered softly. “How did you know, Hermione?”

“When I found out a house-elf had stolen Harry’s letters I decided to read up on them. It’s a very peculiar and dark side of wizarding history if you ask me. It’s as if you promote slavery with them.” She had to add.

“Well, that’s a bit harsh, Mione.” Daphne said softly. “It’s a part of our culture. Not all house-elves are treated badly. The elves that are here in the castle were brought here by Helga Hufflepuff herself to protect them against it.”

“A lot of them are. How Harry described Dobby…” Her eyes drifted to Blaise and Theo and she bit her lip to keep herself from saying anything else.

“I’ll go and get Draco.” Blaise said bluntly. “Daphne, I leave it to you to educate Hermione in the pureblood culture while we are gone.” He grabbed Theo by his arm and dragged him away without waiting. The tension had risen when they had come on this subject and neither one of the second years wanted a repeat from the dark magic argument.

Daphne gave a small sigh and looked at Hermione.

“You know. Sometimes I wish pureblood cultures was a course at school. It would be so much better for the muggleborns to actually learn something about our culture and its history before they start judging.” She noticed what she had said. “No offense to you, Hermione.”

“No, I see what you mean. I often wish you guys would get the chance to learn about muggles so there would be a smaller gap between us.”

“Well, in third year they do give muggle studies.” Daphne said thoughtfully. “Anyway. Let me give you a quick insight in the house-elf culture. Despite what you might think, elves like to serve their master. They are extremely loyal and would be insulted if you tried to set them free. The only way you can do that, is by presenting them clothes.” Daphne explained.

“Dobby mentioned something like that. That only his master could set him free by giving him clothes.” Harry muttered thoughtfully.

“Yeah, I think Dobby is like the only elf who actually wants to be set free.” Daphne said thoughtfully. “Most masters use presenting them with clothes as a treat if their elf doesn’t listen. You see, elves can’t directly disobey their master, because they would have to punish themselves then,” Hermione’s sharp intake of breath at the mention of that made Daphne stop for a moment and give the brunette a sad smile. “They are, however, extremely smart and able to find loopholes. Like this elf is doing right now.”

“So you mean to say they aren’t allowed to have a will of their own?” Hermione said horrified.

“They do have a will of their own, Mione.” Daphne said quickly. “House-elves who are treated badly will only do the bare minimum so they just follow the orders but nothing more. Believe me, the bad treatment from the elves is mostly due to the fear their masters have of the power that they bear.”

“It still is a vile thing to do.” Hermione grumbled.

“Well, why don’t you try and change it.” Daphne said exasperated.

Harry, who had been listening in silence most of the time piped up at this comment.

“Yeah, that should be possible. I mean, aren’t there rules to protect them?” He asked.

“Not yet.” Daphne said quietly. “Anything not pure is in disadvantage at the moment in the wizarding world. Something that need to change quickly before it is too late.”

The three of them waited in silence for the return of their friends with the young Malfoy heir, all lost in their own thoughts.

“Can someone finally explain to me why I was dragged away from my lovely seat in the common room and had to put my book down?” Malfoy complained as Blaise and Theo dragged him towards their friends who looked up at the scowling blond.

“We want you to call your house-elf.” Hermione said, as blunt as she had stated that they should get Malfoy.

“My house-elf…” Malfoy looked at the muggleborn in front of him and snickered. “You might want to be a bit more specific, Granger. My family has more than one.”

“Yeah, but only one of them causes trouble and stands up against your families bad treatment.” Hermione spat.

Malfoys face turned in a scowl and he send a glare to Blaise.

“I hope you didn’t bring me here to let the mudblood insult my family, Blaise.” He brought out through gritted teeth. “I have better things to do.”

“What Hermione tried to ask you,” Blaise said with a small glare in the brunettes direction. “Was if you would please call Dobby for us.”

None of the second years commented on the insult Malfoy had given Hermione. Harry because he was stopped by Theo, and the others because they knew they needed the boy to work with them. And Hermione did see that she had crossed a line by attacking his family.

“Why would I do that?” He asked, the scowl still on his face.

“Because an elf called Dobby has tried to kill me yesterday to protect me from the evil that is roaming the hallways.” Harry said darkly. “Although I would say the bloody elf is the thing that will get me killed.”

Malfoy was quiet for a moment, thinking over all the knowledge he just got told.

“That does sound like Dobby.” He muttered. “He has a good heart, would call him an angel… although he’s more an angel of death if he wants to help you. Almost killed me while practising quidditch. Mom was furious with him.” He was silent for a moment. “Probably the thing he got the rogue bludger idea from.” He said in an afterthought. “Dobby!” He called, leaning against the bookcase.

A loud crack indicated the appearance of a small, wrinkly house elf. Harry’s eyes went big when he recognised him as the same Dobby that had stolen his letters, stopped him from boarding the train and almost killed him the day before.

“Young master Malfoy called, sir.” Dobby said, bowing nervously as he looked at the six students who were surrounding him. He trembled slightly and Hermione’s face softened. The poor thing looked so scared.

“What in Salazar’s name have you been doing now, Dobby?!” Malfoy said in an exasperate voice. “Dad might actually kill you if he finds out you have been leaving the house!”

“Dobby has been doing a lot, sire.” The small elf said softly.

“You know what I’m talking about.” Malfoy spat annoyed. “You almost got Potter killed!”

“Oh no sir, Dobby only tried to protect mister Potter, not harming him.” He said with a trembling voice. Malfoy seemed to notice how scared his elf was and sighed before kneeling down in front of him and gently grabbing the elves fingers that were covered in rags to cover the burn wounds. “Dobby burned the food when he heard that Mr. Harry Potter did get to school, sir.”

All five friends watched in silence at the exchange between Master and elf as Malfoy got his wand out. He muttered a soft healing spell and made sure his elves hands were free from burns again.

“What happened to stay out of trouble until I was home again, you darn elf.” The blonde asked softly. It seemed as if he had forgotten about his audience. Hermione and Harry’s mouth were almost hanging open as they saw the softer side of the Slytherin prat. This wasn’t something they had expected.

“Dobby had to save Mr. Harry Potter, young Master.” The elf spoke. “Master wants him dead.”

“What did my dad do?” Draco grumbled.

“He set evil magic free in the castle, young Master.” The elf spoke sadly.

“How did he do that?” Harry asked, startling Malfoy who had forgotten all about the other students.

“Master forbid Dobby to tell anyone, sir.” Dobby spoke. “Dobby has to go, young master. Mistress wants Dobby to prepare lunch.”

“Stay out of trouble, Dobby.” The blonde spoke, getting up from his knees again. “And leave saving Potter to his friends over here. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“See you over Christmas, young master?” Dobby asked, ready to disappear again.

“Not this Christmas, Dobby. My parents are going away. Feel free to drop by if you want to see me though. Don’t forget some of that lovely fudge you make.”

“Dobby most certainly will, young master.” The elf said a lot more cheerful than he had been before the conversation with his favourite young master. With a crack he disappeared again.

“You better watch out, Potter.” Malfoy spoke stiffly. “If my dad is connected to all this, no one is save. He probably looked for the heir himself and set him up to do this.” His eyes drifted to Hermione who still looked entirely stunned by what just had happened. “Not a word about this, Granger. I don’t want to lose my elf.” With that being said, he looked at Blaise who nodded and looked at his other friends.

“I’m going with Drake. I think I’ve had enough of drama for a bit. We can look in all this secret chamber stuff again tomorrow. Take a break, at least we know you’re save from the elf now, Harry.”

“See you later.” Theo said to both of them, taking his seat again and looking at Hermione with an amused smirk. The muggleborn was still looking in the direction Blaise and Draco had taken off. “Like Daphne probably told you. Not all masters are cruel to their elves.”

“I can tell…” she muttered.

“Dobby raised Drake.” Theo said chuckling. “He was his nanny.”

“Well, I’m still surprised.” She said. “That boy is cruel to everything not pure.”

“Comes with the name, Mione.” Daphne said sadly. “Draco hasn’t had much choice about how he behaves. His parents wouldn’t be as understanding as Fina and mine.” Daphne said quietly.

“And they wouldn’t be as uncaring as my dad.” Theo muttered. “As long as I get good grades he is satisfied. Malfoy doesn’t have that opportunity, Lucius would never approve of it.”

Hermione nodded quietly. She got what Theo meant. Lucius Malfoy didn’t seem someone to take lightly. And being his son, it seemed a burden the young Malfoy heir carried in silence.


	12. Parseltongue

“Oh this is going to be fun.” Theo said rather cheerful. “My wand is an excellent duelling wand, and powerful with dark magic as well. He has proven himself often enough. “The boy smirked, looking at his raven friend. “Bet I will beat you every time.”

The group of second years found themselves in the Great hall where for the first time a duelling club was held. The long dining tables were removed and a golden stage had appeared along the wall, lit by a thousand of floating candles.

“What’s so special about it then?” Harry asked, earning a glare from his Italian friend who had heard the story about ten times before.

“This isn’t an ordinary wand.” Theo started. “It’s a family heirloom, it goes back for centuries in our family.” Harry listened to his friend, interested to learn more about the magical world. He wasn’t the only one. Hermione was listening closely as well, although Theo didn’t notice it. “The core is very rare and extremely good for dark magic.”

“Doesn’t make it unbeatable in duelling though, Theo.” Hermione countered. “Especially not in Hogwarts. Dumbledore would never allow anything closely dark in this school.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t hex you.” The brunet said back, giving the girl a wink.

“I’d like to see you try.” The witch countered.

“Alright. What about the two of us go against each other and I show you duelling is a subject I will beat your ass in?”

Never one to back down on a challenge, Hermione gave Daphne an apologising look before agreeing.

“Sorry Daph.” She said afterwards, giving her friend a guilty look.

“Don’t worry Mione.” The blonde said. “I am more curious to who is gonna teach this thing.”

“I heard Kali mention Flitwick was a good duellist in his time.” Blaise answered her question.

“And Snape is supposed to be good as well.” Theo said thoughtfully.

“As long as it isn’t…” Harry started to say, but ending in a groan. Lockhart had just entered the stage, dressed in a dark plum, being followed by Snape in his usual black. Lockhart tried to silence the group of students by waving his arms before starting to speak.

“Gather around, gather around! Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me? Excellent!”

“I wish I wouldn’t have to hear him for once.” Harry grumbled annoyed. Theo and Blaise couldn’t do anything else but agree while the girls just rolled their eyes.

“At least we will have some sort of decent practice with Snape up there too.” Blaise muttered, as Lockhart once again was boasting about how good he was in this subject and how Dumbledore had agreed on letting him teach it to the children.

“Let me introduce my assistant Professor Snape.” Lockhart said, flashing a white, toothy smile. “He told me he knows a little bit of duelling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short  demonstration before we start. Now I don’t want you to worry – you still will have your Potion Master once I’m done with him.”

“It’s more likely that we get a new DADA teacher.” Theo huffed.

“Let’s hope Snape just goes for it.” Blaise added. “He’s more than a bit skilled.”

“Shush you two!” Hermione whispered, poking both guys in their ribs.

“Ow woman!” Blaise grumbled.

“Keep the violence for the duel.” Theo whined.

Harry brought his attention back to the stage where Lockhart and Snape had turned to face each other and bowed; or so Lockhart did, making a show of it while Snape just jerked his head. Harry really didn’t get why Lockhart was still smiling. If Snape would be looking at him like he was looking right now, his wand raised, he would be in Belgium before the Potion Master would kill him.

“As you see, we are standing in the appropriate duelling position.” Lockhart spoke. “On the count of three we will cast our spell, neither of us trying to kill the other of course.”

“You have to do it a bit more like this.” Blaise said, bringing Hermione’s arm a bit lower and closer to her body. The girl had tried out the position, as If she wanted to make sure she wouldn’t forget it by the time she had to duel Theo. “Gives you more control.”

“Thanks.” She said with a small blush before bringing her attention back to the stage where Lockhart had reached the count of three. Both wizards wands shot back over their shoulders and a dazzling scarlet flash left Snape’s wand when he shouted the disarming spell, sending Lockhart flying backwards straight into the wall; making him end up sprawled over the floor.

“Amateur.” Daphne scoffed. “A simple Protego would have done the trick.”

“Yeah, he didn’t leave the best first impression of himself.” Hermione muttered softly. “I hope he just needs to warm up because otherwise it means I have to look for a new idol.”

Neither Theo or Blaise were listening as they were cheering loudly for their head of house. Blaise even giving a cheerful Malfoy a high-five.

At the wall, Lockhart was getting back up to his feet unsteadily, quickly picking up his fallen hat and placing it back on his wavy hair.

“Well there you have it.” He said, staggering back on to the stage. “That was a Disarming Charm – as you see I don’t have my wand anymore – ah, thank you Miss Brown.” Both Hermione and Daphne rolled their eyes at the Gryffindor when she nearly fainted the moment Lockhart’s hand bushed hers when she handed back the wand. “Yes an excellent idea to show them, Professor Snape, but if you don’t mind my saying, it was obvious what you were gonna do and I could’ve easily stopped you. But I thought it would be good for the students to see…” Snape was giving his colleague a murderous look and it seemed as if Lockhart finally caught up as he decided to start pairing students up.

Hermione noticed him pair up Neville with Justin Finch-Fletchly while Snape came towards their little group. It seemed as if he wanted to go for the obvious pairing of Daphne and Hermione together but Theo was quicker.

“If you don’t mind Professor, I would like to pair up with Hermione on this.” He said confidently.

“And how are you gonna motivate that idea, Mr. Nott?” The Potion Master asked, giving his student a questioning look.

“It seemed us a good idea to introduce her to duelling by pairing her up with someone who has had lessons in it, Professor. Just because there is more of a learning opportunity there.”

“That’s an excellent motivation Mr. Nott.” Snape said with the voice he solemnly kept for the Slytherins. “Miss Greengrass, have your parents have you schooled in duelling yet?” He asked the blonde.

“No sir.” She said. “My parents didn’t think it to be ladylike to go fighting.”

“I see.” He muttered. “I’m sure Mr. Zabini would love to help you with this. I know from experience he is trained in duelling. That leaves you, Potter.” Snape’s eyes had shot to Harry and turned cold immediately. “I got the request from Mr. Flint to make sure you and Mr. Malfoy would be able to get along on the field. I’m sure this makes an excellent practice.” He looked over the crowd and found Malfoy talking to Adrian Pucey a bit away. “Draco, come here! You and Mr. Potter will be a pair. I trust you will show him the proper way of duelling.” He gave the blond a stern look and Malfoy nodded.

Hermione gave Harry an understanding look before she followed Theo to a free spot in the hall.

“I hope you are actually gonna teach me something. Or are you gonna enjoy beating my ass?” She asked, following his lead as he took the appropriate duelling stand.

“A little bit of both.” He admitted. “You have to give me some fun, Mione. This probably is the only subject that I would be able to beat you in.”

Lockhart reached the count of three and Hermione was blasted backwards by the disarming spell Theo casted on her. He was quick, she noticed, landing on her bum in front of Blaise who deflected a spell Daphne had cast.

“Try Everte Statum.” He said, helping her up.

“That’s not a Disarming Charm though.” The brunette noted.

“There are only so many disarming spells. This has the same effect and keeps it interesting.” Daphne said, handing Hermione’s wand back.

The brunette nodded, glancing quickly towards Malfoy and Harry who seemed to be very motivated. Harry had blasted backwards like she had but had been able to keep his wand and cast the Rictumsempra.

“Ready for round two?” Theo asked amused.

“I was born ready.” The witch spoke. This time she was ready for his Disarming charm and blocked it with a Protego before taking Blaise’s tip to heart.

“Everte Statum!” She shouted. Theo, who hadn’t expected it, found that it was his turn to be blasted backwards.

“Stop! Stop!” Lockhart screamed, ending the spell Malfoy had put on Harry with a quick Finite Incatatum. “It might be better if I teach you how to block unfriendly spells.” He glanced at Snape who’s eyes glinted and quickly decided he wasn’t up for another round against the Potion Master. “Let’s have a volunteer pair. Longbottom and Finch-Fletchly?” Lockhart asked, glancing at the two terrified looking boys.

“A bad idea, Professor Lockhart.” Snape said, gliding over like a large and malevolent bat. “Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We’ll be sending what’s left of Finch-Fletchly to the Hospital wing in  a matchbox.” Neville’s round pink face went even more pink and Hermione couldn’t keep herself from calling Snape a prat. “What about Potter and Malfoy?” Snape suggested.

“Excellent idea!” Lockhart said, gesturing for both Slytherins to come to the middle of the hall. The other students backed away to make room. “Now Harry, when Malfoy points his wand at you, just do this.” Lockhart tried to do something difficult with his wand before dropping it. “Oops. My wand is a bit overexcited.” He said gleefully. Snape smirked and bend down, whispering something in Malfoys ear. The boy smirked and nodded. It seemed as if the ‘try to get along’ part was over for now.

“Could you please show me that again, Professor?” He asked.

“Just do what I did, Harry.”

“What, drop my wand?” Harry grumbled, but Lockhart wasn’t listening anymore. His eyes looked for his friends who gave him an encouraging smile, Blaise even showing him the correct way of blocking a spell quickly before Lockhart reached three. It seemed as if Harry wouldn’t need the spell after all though, seeing that Malfoy decided on playing dirty.

“Serpensortia!” The boy yelled. Harry saw the top of Malfoy’s wand exploded as a dark snake shot out of it. The snake seemed to be ready to attack and screams from the crowd caught Harry’s attention.

“Don’t move Potter.” Snape said lazily, clearly enjoying the sight of the motionless boy who was standing eye in eye with the angry snake. “I’ll get rid of it…”

“Allow me!” Lockhart said, raising his wand and casting a spell. Instead of vanishing, the snake flew up in the air and landed right in front of Neville and Justin. Hissing angrily, the snake got ready to attack the Hufflepuff. Without thinking Harry shot forward.

“ _Leave him alone.”_ He hissed at the reptile, who miraculous retreated and looked at Harry in surprise. Harry calmed down a bit. He knew the snake wasn’t gonna attack anyone anymore, but the Hufflepuff didn’t seem to think so.

“What the bloody hell are you playing at!” He screamed. Before Harry could answer he turned around and left the Great Hall. Snape stepped forward and with a quick motion of his wand, he made the snake vanish. His head of house gave him a calculated look but before Harry could think about it, he felt himself being pulled away from the Great Hall by Malfoy. In the corner of his eyes he noticed his friends following them quickly out of the big hall. Malfoy didn’t say a thing until they reached the Slytherin common room and waited for Blaise and the others to catch up.

“Get in Granger.” He sneered when the Gryffindor hesitated too long for his own liking. “Our room, now Potter!” He spat.

The raven haired boy followed the young Malfoy heir up the stairs and sat down on his bed in confusion.

“You are a Parselmouth!” Blaise almost yelled when everyone was in.

“When the fuck were you planning on telling us?!” Theo said, as agitated as his friends.

“I’m a what?” Harry asked confused. Not knowing why his friends were so angry with him… Or why Malfoy had just dragged him out of the Great Hall.

“A Parselmouth… You can talk to snakes.” Hermione translated.

“Oh, yeah I know. It first happened when we were at the zoo the summer before I came here. I had a nice chat with a boa constrictor. What’s the big deal about it? I’m sure a lot of wizards can talk to snakes.”

“No they can’t, Potter. Slytherin was a Parselmouth, and some say the Dark Lord was one too. But these are the only known wizards to have this gift.” Malfoy huffed. “The whole school is gonna think you’re THE Heir of Slytherin now. You understand that right?! Our lives are gonna be a hell.”

“But… I’m not.” Harry said softly.

“We know that.” Theo said quietly. “But you could be an heir of the Slytherin name. No one knows what happened to the family after all. I mean, after Castor and Pollux were born, it’s all a bit cloudy. How else are you gonna explain this?”

“I don’t know…” Muttered Harry.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

His friends weren’t the only ones who wanted to know about his gift, when Harry and his friends came down in the common room, the head girl was waiting for him, her arms crossed over her chest. She pulled up a brow when she noticed Hermione but didn’t comment on it.

“You’re a Parselmouth.” She stated, looking at Harry. “Or so some state. I would like to see some prove of that.”

Harry looked up at the head girl in confusion. He didn’t understand the look she was giving him. It seemed to be as calculating as the one Snape had given him earlier, but with a softer undertone.

“How do you want me to prove it?” He asked confused. “I don’t have a snake.”

“Talk to the ornaments.” Diana said as a matter of fact, looking a lot more cheerful about the whole idea of having a Parselmouth in their house.

“What?” Harry looked at them flabbergasted.

“The snakes on the ceiling, you dumbass.” Malfoy said, rolling his eyes.

Harry looked up and noticed, indeed, some metal snakes up there.

“But they’re metal…” He said, still not catching up.

“This is Hogwarts, Harry.” Daphne said quietly. “They are bewitched. I’m sure you can make them move if you talk to them.”

The boy gave his friends an awkward look before focussing his attention on the ornaments again. It was pretty stressful to have his whole house look at him, ready to make a fool out of himself. This didn’t just happen on command.

“Move.” He said.

“That’s just English, Potter.” Malfoy mentioned casually.

“Move.” He said again, putting a bit more effort in it.

“Still English.” Kali said. “You might actually want to believe the snakes are real.” She said.

“ _Move.”_ He hissed. And if the surprised OH’s and Ah’s of his fellow housemates weren’t enough to tell him it had worked, the now moving and hissing snakes did.

“ _A Parselmouth! Finally someone to talk to.”_  They hissed, crinkling over each other to move over the ceiling and down the wall. _“Finally we can move again!”_

“ _Hi there.”_ Harry greeted them. _“Feel free to keep moving, please. My name is Harry. Who are you?”_

He seemed to have forgotten all about his housemates who were keeping a close eye on his interaction to the snakes. Hermione seemed to be even more interested than all the others, knowing this was a magical gift she would never be able to develop.

_“We are Malinda and Titanoboa, little Hatchling.”_

“This stays between these four walls.” Kali finally spoke, catching Harry’s attention. “If anyone asks you about it, Finch-Fletchly made everything up and Malfoy had hexed Potter so he could only his like a snake. We can’t let this get out. Understood!” She spat.

All the Slytherins nodded and suddenly all eyes turned to Hermione.

“Same goes for you Granger. We can’t have you tell anyone about this.” Devon spoke, giving the Gryffindor a stern look.

“Don’t worry. I don’t have anyone but my friends to tell it to. And how convenient, they are all in Slytherin.”

He gave a quick nod.

“I’ll bring you up to your common room, Granger. We wouldn’t want Filch to catch you out of bed after curfew.” Kali spoke, leading the girl out of the common room, away from the awkwardness that had started the moment the Slytherins knew what this meant. If Harry could talk to snakes, he was an heir of Slytherin… So that meant that he was the one who had opened the chamber… or that an imposter was giving their house a bad name. Looking at the kind of friend he had, the second seemed the more logical answer.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

Due to the snow that had started falling the night before, had turned into a real blizzard, Hermione’s Herbology was cancelled, which was the reason why she was sitting alone in the restricted section of the library where she had sneaked into under the cover of Harry’s invisibility cloak. Her friend had been happy to give it to her and ensure her some peace and quiet. Ever since the incident the day before, everyone kept coming to Hermione to hear what had happened, seeing her as the weak spot because all Slytherins had kept their mouth shut or told the story Hermione kept repeating, Malfoy had hexed Harry and that was the reason he could only hiss. Turning her page – she had found a rather interesting book about magical abilities – the feeling that someone was looking at her made the brunette look up. She had found a place to sit in a small alcove next to a window deep enough into the restricted section so she wouldn’t be noticed. She had put the cloak away in her bag and had placed a heating spell on the small spot she was sitting while she had transfigured a paper into a pillow to make herself comfortable. Her eyes searched the rows of bookcases until she did a double take when she noticed some red hair only three rows away from her.

“If you want something come and ask it you bloody Weasley twins.” The girl said annoyed, knowing that she was busted. For some reason, they always knew where to find them. She had been expecting them.

“Are you gonna tell us the truth,” Fred asked, walking over from behind the bookcase.

“Or are you gonna tell us the same lie you have been telling every single student?” George ended.

Hermione pulled up a brow and looked back down on her pages. Putting a silencing charm around them with a simple flick of her wand.

“You know, there are a lot of magical abilities that are known to the wizarding world.” Hermione started. “Too many abilities to actually keep track off. I’m sure there will be books about it though so you might get your answer there.” She dismissed them by turning to the next page, legilimence. Interesting.

“Or you could spare us the time looking.”

“And just tell us what is going on.” Fred stole her book and looked at the page she was on. “Interesting.” He mused.

“Give me my book back, Fred Weasley.” The girl huffed annoyed. “If you want answers, go to Harry. I’m not gonna get myself in trouble with Kali. Now piss off and leave me alone.” She grabbed her book back and looked out of the window, hoping that they would just leave. They did the opposite though.

“Are you alright, Mione?” Fred asked gently, sitting down in front of her in the alcove, George leaned against the wall and gave her a once over.

“The Slytherins aren’t giving you a hard time, are they?”

“Not particularly no.” She muttered. “If you want to know what really happened, go talk to Harry. He’s the only one who can give the permission to tell everything. Kali has explained the Slytherin law into detail. No slip ups or you’re out. You can be mean to everyone you want but there will be unity between all Slytherins. Seeing that I’m a close friend of four Slytherins, those rules apply to me to. Which hopefully means they will be civil towards me.” She explained all in one breath.

“Now breath.” Fred said with a small smile. The girl gave him a small glare but couldn’t keep herself from smiling immediately afterwards. “We understand. We’ll go and talk to Harry once he’s out of class.”

“But would you mind us keeping you company until they’re free?” George asked smiling.

“You have a rather nice spot here and with Lee having a detention…”

“We could use a third person to keep us company.”

“Alright.” Hermione agreed. “But don’t be too loud. I was reading a good book before you took it away so rudely.” She said to Fred, opening it again on the page had been on.

“We won’t. We have some jokes to prepare.” The Weasley twins said cheerfully, making Hermione roll her eyes. As long as they pranked someone else, she wasn’t gonna complain.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

“That was the most boring class ever!” Daphne complained, stifling a yawn. “I actually like history but Binns almost succeeds in making me detest it.”

“Welcome to the club. Took you long enough to join us.” Blaise muttered.

“Do you think Hermione will offer us her notes to study from?” Harry said wondering. He was half joking though, but Theo didn’t think it was funny and slapped him against the back of his head.

“You have caused her enough stress already by screwing up in the big hall yesterday.” He hissed. “Don’t even joke about using her notes.”

“Get your panties out of the twist, Theo.” Blaise said, pulling up a brow at his friend. “He was obviously joking.”

The brunet didn’t get a chance to answer his Italian friend as the sight of Hagrid with a dead rooster hanging limp from his glove caught there attention.

“Hagrid?” Harry asked surprised. “What’s going on?”

“Second one killed this term,” the giant explained. “It’s either foxes or a Blood-suckin’ Bugbear, an’ I need the Headmaster’s permission ter put a charm round the hen-coop.”

“That might be smart yeah.” Daphne said, pulling u her nose at the dead animal. “We’ll see you later Hagrid. We have to find Hermione to compare notes.”

They bid their goodbyes and walked up the stairs into a corridor that seemed to be relatively dark.

“Maybe we should take a different route.” Daphne said, looking around.

“Why? You’re not afraid in the dark are you?” Blaise asked teasingly.

“No, not in particular no…” She looked at Theo and Harry who were a bit ahead. “I just have a bad feeling.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” Blaise said, putting his arm around his friend and giving her a wink.

“You idiot.” The girl said, poking him in his side but leaving the arm there as they walked after Harry and Theo. It was cold in the hallway and Blaise’s arm gave her some warmth. Who left a window open when a bloody blizzard was going on outside? “Don’t complain to me if something bad happens though… I’ve warned ya.”

“What in Salazar’s name could happen?” Blaise asked.

“Bloody hell.” Theo fell face forward after tripping over something that was laying on the flour.

The word jinx popped up in Blaise’s mind with Ella looking up at him with her bright eyes.

“Fuck.” They heard Harry say and sped up a bit so they could see what Theo had tripped over.

“That’s… Justin isn’t it?” Blaise said, looking at the body of the Hufflepuff lying on the flour cold and rigid. A look of shock was frozen on his face, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Guys.” Daphne’s voice sounded through the hallway. When Blaise looked up he saw the fear that was visibly written over her face. She had lost all colour again and was pointing at something behind her three friends. The boys turned around slowly and their mouth fell open. In front of them was the strangest sight they’ve ever seen. Nearly Headless Nick was no longer the pearly white Daphne’s hair was at the moment, but black and smoky, floating immobile and horizontal about six inches above the floor. His head was half off and his face wore an expression of shock identical to Justin’s.

“Oh no…” Blaise muttered. “Let’s get as far away as possible from here before anyone sees us and starts getting the wrong idea.”

“We can’t just leave him here!” Harry said, but his friends didn’t want to hear off it and quickly dragged him away, around a corner. And right in time it seemed, because only moments after they turned around the corner, Peeves started screaming. No ghost or student was save anymore.

“Let’s get to the library as soon as possible.” Theo muttered, ducking out of sight when a group of Gryffindors passed to go and see what all the screaming was about.

“Yeah, we don’t want to make anyone else think it was you who did it, Harry.” Daphne said softly. She put her hand on his shoulder and gave him an apologetical look. She hadn’t liked leaving Justin behind either but it was that or risking expulsion. Because who would believe them after Harry’s stunt from yesterday?


	13. Christmas at the Zabini's

“So… What can we expect this Christmas?” Hermione asked a tad nervous, looking out of the window of the Hogwarts express. The snow was still steadily falling and at this rate she wasn’t sure if the rails actually would be safe to drive on by the time they would reach London.

“Well, a lot of pureblood stuff.” Malfoy was the one answering. He didn’t know why he had decided to spend his time with Blaise’s friends, but seeing that he was spending Christmas at the Zabini Mansion too, after long begging from his Italian friend, he thought it was the logical thing to do.

“Well,” Daphne started, ignoring Draco’s comment. “It’s mostly a holiday. But there are some pureblood traditions you will have to attend to.”

“There is the Yule ball at Christmas day, that’s the day Daphne is gonna join us.” Theo informed the brunette.

“A Yule ball? But… I don’t have anything to wear.” She muttered, glancing quickly in Malfoy’s direction. The blond didn’t seem to care though, as he just looked out of the window again.

“Don’t worry about that.” Daphne said cheerful. I’ll make sure to grab a dress for you. Mom wouldn’t mind getting there early. She loves Fina.”

“Everyone does.” Theo muttered. “I am just glad my dad doesn’t end up as husband number eight.”

Blaise snickered at that thought.

“He can’t do that.” He said with a grin. “She was the girl of the brother of one of his best friends.”

“Is everyone related in this pureblood families?” Harry asked surprised.

“Yeah. Obviously.” Malfoy answered. “How do you keep the blood pure otherwise.”

“Inbreeding was very common in the high pureblood societies.” Hermione said to Harry. Malfoy gave her a glare through the reflection of the window but she shrugged it off.

“It wasn’t uncommon for siblings to marry in our grandparents time.” Daphne added. “Like Hermione and Draco pointed out, everything was good to keep the blood pure.”

“Although after centuries of inbreeding, the results were seen in the wizarding community as well. Less children got born in the purest families, and squibs seemed to become more frequent too.” Hermione rambled.

“Yeah, yeah, enough about this dreadful subject.” Malfoy interrupted her. “Who wants something from the trolley?” He got up and repeated Blaise and Theo’s wishes.

“I’ll come with you.” Harry said to everyone’s surprise. “It’s too much to carry all by yourself.”

“Okay.” Was all Malfoy said before turning his attention to Hermione. “So, what do you want Granger?”

“Oh… I don’t have any money on me.” The girl muttered softly.

“It’s not as if I expect you to pay.” The blond scoffed, as if she had just insulted him.

“She likes to be surprised, Drake.” Blaise said quickly. “She’s a lot like Daphne in that way.”

“Okay. Surprise it is.” The blond said, before motioning for Harry to follow him.

“What was that all about?” Hermione asked surprised.

“Which part?” said Theo dryly. “The only child part or you don’t have to pay part.”

“Well… both.” She said, frowning as she looked at the door where Harry and Malfoy just had left.

“It’s impolite for a wizard to let a witch pay for her own when she is in his company. That’s why us lads will share the bill.” Theo explained smoothly. “Don’t even start on how old fashioned that is, Hermione. It’s our culture.”

She didn’t mention it and shut up, still frowning.

“As for the one child part.” Theo looked at Blaise.

“His parents have tried multiple times to get a second child. It’s kind of a sore subject. When he was five… His mother finally gave birth to a little girl. The girl was a stillborn. After that, the Malfoys never tried again.” Blaise said blankly.

“That’s terrible.” Hermione muttered.

“It is.” Was all Blaise answered. “So try not mention it again.”

Hermione was struck with the strong bond Blaise had towards Malfoy and decided that she would do everything that was in her power to actually make this work.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

“Blaise!” Little Ella came running towards her cousin, jumping in his arms the moment they entered the Zabini Mansion. It had been Orion who had picked them up and Hermione had gotten into knitting with him rather quickly, zoning the boys – who were talking about quidditch – out. The moment they had arrived at Il Palazzo Zabini, it had been impossible to zone the boys out though, seeing that every single one of them couldn’t wait to see the little girl again.

“Hey there, princess.” He said, picking the girl up and swirling her around in the air. Making the little girl erupt in giggles.

“Can’t your favourite Knight get a hug as well.” Malfoy said, giving the little girl a smile. The first real smile Hermione had ever seen him give.

“Of course you can!” The girl said. Laughing happily when he took her over from Blaise. “What do you have a wonderful dress on today, princess.” He said tenderly. “I hope you didn’t do that to impress me.” He gave her a little wink and the girl started laughing again.

She had indeed, a wonderful red dress on, wearing a black sweater under it to cover up her arms and a red hat to finish it all off.

“She obviously did it to impress me, Drake.” Theo said, greeting the little girl with one of his lopsided smiles. “Didn’t you Princess?”

“Theo! You could make it!” She said cheerfully.

“Of course I could.” He said proudly. “As if I would leave you alone with those prats over here.” He gave her a wink.

Harry was standing next to Hermione in the door opening, looking at all the affection that was being showed towards the little girl. She hadn’t noticed them yet and was enjoying all the love she got from the three Slytherin boys.

“Language Theo.” Fina said, walking in the hallway too to greet her guests. She was wearing a stunning green dress and a golden necklace. On the necklace hung a small silver tear.

“A gift from my sister.” Fina said, noticing Hermione’s interest.

“It’s beautiful.” The girl complimented.

When Ella heard her voice she immediately looked over and noticed Harry standing next to her.

“Harry! Mimi!” She broke free from Malfoys embrace and ran over towards them so she could give them a hug as well. “Are you gonna read to me again, Mimi?” The girl asked enthusiastic.

“Of course, Ella. I’ve found just the story for you. It’s about a little girl named Ella. But her family calls her Cinderella!”

“A story about me!” The girl said cheerfully.

“Yeah a story about you.” Hermione said smiling. 

Ella changed her attention to Harry who gave her a small grin and picked her up too when she asked for it. Fina motioned for everyone to follow her to the dining room, seeing that dinner was gonna be served.

“Are you gonna read her the muggle or wizarding version?” Malfoy asked, having waited for Hermione so he could ask the question.

“So this is another fairy-tale that’s actually a wizarding myth?” She asked, not totally surprised.

“Yeah, though I’m not sure the myth is much of a bedtime story. It’s about a squib who’s family hates her because she gives them a bad name. Her fairy godmother is actually her real godmother who decided to step in and brew Amortentia to make the prince fall in love with her. She got away from her stepfamily and married the prince. Inconveniently she fell in love with him though, and after they married she stopped giving him the potion. The prince wasn’t happy with her and accused her of witchcraft. She ended on the stake.”

“That’s terrible.” Hermione said horrified.

“What did you expect. It’s a myth told to purebloods to show them why they have to stay away from muggles and should think before they act. Conceal, don’t feel. The pureblood moto.”

He sat down at the dinner table and brought his attention to Fina, complimenting her for her lovely dress. Hermione couldn’t get the story out of her head anymore though. Malfoy had just been honest with her. Nothing of what he had said, had been said with his usual sneer or disgust towards her. He had just stated facts. It promised to be an interesting holiday.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

“What’s up with you?” Blaise asked, sitting down next to Hermione who was reading a book in front of the fire. “You’ve been quiet ever since dinner.”

“I thought you were still playing quidditch.” She said, putting down her book.

After dinner, Hermione had brought Ella to her bed and the guys had decided to play some quidditch, trying to get the Christmas spirit in it by making Harry and Draco work together as a team. It was just about scoring the most goals, seeing that there weren’t enough players to play an actual quidditch game. They didn’t seem to be bothered by the darkening sky of the approaching night and since the snow had stopped for a bit, they decided to take their chances.

“It started snowing again, Orion had us come in because it was too dangerous.” He explained, looking at the book in her lap. “Mythical creatures again? Hermione, we’re on holiday! You have to take a rest sometimes.”

“Me taking a rest isn’t gonna help us find out what is doing this! It’s not gonna tell us what kind of creature can petrify ghosts!” She huffed.

Blaise didn’t say anything for a moment, just gave her an intense look.

“You are taking this personal.” He stated. “Because they are petrifying muggleborns. In a way they are attacking you.”

“Good deduction Blaise.” She scoffed. “Of course I feel attacked.”

“But that isn’t why you were quiet?” He gave her a questioning look.

“I was quiet because I was eating.” She said dryly. “Nothing more or less.”

“So it hadn’t something to do with the conversation you’ve had with Draco before you guys joined us at the table?” He asked. Hermione wasn’t sure but she thought she heard concern in his voice. “Did he say anything to upset you.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong.” Hermione said, giving him a small smile. “You should know that. I’m sure you asked him what he did before you came here.”

“You will find that boys don’t know for sure if they did something to insult girls.” Blaise said with a small chuckle. “To be fair, he actually was worried the story about Cinderella had upset you.”

“It made me think.” Was all Hermione said. “Like I said, he didn’t do anything wrong. It was just a reality check that wizards have thought so low about my kind for so long.”

“There’s nothing like _your kind_ , Hermione.” The Italian said sternly. “You’re as much of a witch as Daphne is. Let no one tell you anything different.”

The girl gave him a dashing smile before she got up and hugged him. He stiffened up for a moment before putting his arms around her.

“Thanks Blaise.” She said, hiding her face in his chest for a moment before releasing him.

He smiled down on her before letting her go as well.

“Come on, let’s join the others. I’m afraid Harry and Theo will give Drake a bad time if we don’t show up in time to tell them he did  nothing wrong.”

“Oh wouldn’t that be a shame…” muttered Hermione with an amused smile.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

“For the last time, Ella. I’m not gonna wear a dress!” Malfoy grumbled. “Don’t give me those eyes!” He tried to look everywhere but at the little girl who was giving him her best puppy dog eyes. They had already worked on Theo who was wearing a green dress and glared at Hermione who was laughing discretely behind her hand. Harry and Blaise had been more lucky. The raven haired boy was dressed in a jester costume. His black and red costume with the symbol of diamond cards on it were nothing against the bright red and gold, glittering dress that Malfoy had to wear.

“Oh come on, Malfoy!” Hermione cheered. “Show some girl power.”

The boy gave her an annoyed glare.

“Very funny, Granger. You can dress up as witch.” He huffed.

Hermione chuckled. She was indeed the evil witch who was gonna lock the princesses up, being helped by her jester – Harry – while Blaise, who was a silver knight, and Ella, who was playing the Fairy princess, where gonna save them.

“Get in the dress mate! You had the longest straw. Be happy Ella and I are gonna come and save you.” He winked at his childhood friend who now directed his annoyance to him.

“Fine I’ll wear the dress.” He grumbled. Ella jumped around his neck, hugging him tightly. “But only because you’re my special princess.” He said to the girl. “No laughing.” He walked away with the dress in his arms so he could change.

“Come on, Malfoy! Don’t take it too serious. It’s just an innocent child’s play!” Harry said very amused.

“Shut it Potter!” Malfoy grumbled.

“Look, they’re already in the married couple phase of their relationship.” Theo joked. “Their arguments are spot on.” He joked, winking at Harry who grumbled something under his breath and threw a pillow at Theo.

“For the last time, we’re not a couple, Theo.” He huffed.

His friends just laughed at him.

Fina watched the kids play with Ella and smiled. She always regretted not having more than one child. Ella had been a gift from heaven, even though she had lost her sister when she got her. Watching the kids play, though, made her wish for more of them.

“Enjoying the view, Mrs. Fina?” Orion asked, joining his mistress in the door opening, smiling softly when the young Malfoy heir walked in the room with his red and gold dress.

“It’s always a joy when the kids are here. You can see Ella live up. Especially now she has to stay inside with the cold weather.” She saw her little girl dance around in her lilac dress, ‘Fighting’ against the evil witch Hermione who especially for this had put on a fake long nose that Keith had transfigured for her when she asked for it, that way she could bring some of her muggle culture in the play too. It was the day before Christmas and the kids had been here for almost a week now. Of course there had been some tension. Harry and Draco had had a big fallout the second day and surprisingly, it had been Hermione who settled them down again. Their daily quidditch practice helped to keep the tension down and Hermione always kept Ella company if the boys went outside. Fina was a bit scared the girl would get isolated but she made up for the time spent away from them by cooking and baking with little Ella. Cookies and cake that touched the boys’ hearts. A soft laugh from her son made Fina focus on the group again. It seemed as if Hermione had tripped over her cloak and fell straight into Draco, which had set all the other teens off laughing while Ella was jumping around them, trying to save Princess Draco from the big bad witch who was totally entangled in their robes.

“Bloody hell, Granger. Get off me!” He grumbled, trying to push her off but only making it worse by getting wrapped up in their robes as well.

“I can’t Malfoy! You are laying on my cloak. I can’t get up.” She complained.

By this time, Ella was rolling over the floor laughing.

“Mimi and Draco are hugging!” She chuckled.

“Roll over, kids.” Fina said amused, walking in the room. “That way you might get untangled.”

Hermione and Draco followed Fina’s lead and rolled over, Draco ending on top, placing his hands next to her head before quickly getting up. He stretched out his hand to help the girl up, before quickly striding away from her with a huff.

“Are you guys hungry?” Keith walked the room in, stopping in his track when he saw all the dressed up teens. “Or do you want me put it under a heating charm?” He gave them an amused grin.

“No, they are ready to eat!” Fina decided. “You can keep those robes on if you want. I’m sure you still want to play after dinner.” She gave her son a wink.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

“Daphne!” Hermione ran towards her friend an gave her a tight hug. She had been awaiting her arrival all morning, with Ella on her lap. The moment the blonde stepped out of the fireplace, Hermione had gently put Ella on the chair next to her so she could greet her friend properly.

“Mione.” She said happily. “I’ve missed you so much!” She returned the hug before greeting little Ella. “Hello there, little girl.” She said with a soft voice. “Are you gonna prepare for the Yule ball with us?”

A second girl stepped out of the fire now as well. She looked a lot like Daphne but with long black hair and instead of the sapphire eyes Daphne had, lilac bright orbs stared back at Hermione. She dusted her black skirt off and gave Hermione a calculated look.

“You must be Hermione Granger.” The girl spoke, holding out her hand. “I’m Astoria Greengrass. Daphne’s sister.”

“Nice to meet you.” Hermione said, taking the first year’s hand. “Fina is busy at the moment. She had some last minute planning to do, but she said we could get ready whenever we want, as long as we’re done at 5 because that’s when she’s expecting the first guests.”

“Sounds good.” Daphne said cheerfully. “Seems as if we have just enough time to get ready then. Where are the boys?”  

“They’re with Orion and Keith. Something about making sure they wouldn’t make fools out of themselves. It’s a shame Theo will only arrive tonight.” Hermione said with a sad smile. “Although I am curious towards his dad.”

“You might wanna keep from him you’re a muggleborn then.” Astoria spoke, after greeting Ella. “The Nott family isn’t known to actually approve of ‘lower’ blood.” She explained.

“Oh.” Hermione said softly.

“Don’t worry Mimi!” Ella said cheerfully. “Everyone loves you. I’m sure mister Nott will too.”

She smiled at the 7 year old’s cheerfulness before leading the way towards her room so the girls could get ready.

“So, you’re a Ravenclaw, right Astoria?” She asked curiously.

“Yes I am.” The girl said with a bright smile. “Was a bit of a surprise for my parents at first but I’m glad I don’t have to live in my sister’s shadow.” She gave Daphne a wink who gave her a quick wink back.

“How is life in the Ravenclaw tower?” She asked curious.

“It’s alright. I assume it’s a lot like the Gryffindor tower, although it has a lot of bookcases at the walls.” She noticed Hermione’s eyes go big in enthusiasm and chuckled. “I’ve heard it’s totally different from the dungeons. We don’t really have the lake to look at and I’ve never seen a mermaid.” She sighed disappointed.

“And your classmates?” Hermione asked, opening the door to her room. She knew Bella was bringing Daphne’s trunk to the room next doors and would probably drop in any moment with their dresses. Fina had told Hermione she trusted her to make sure Ella would look fabulous seeing that she was too busy. Hermione suspected it to be a little white lie just because Ella loved to dress up with the big girls and of course she didn’t mind.

“They’re alright…. I mean, there are some nasty people in there. There is this one girl who has a really hard time because they are always picking on her. I quite like her even though she’s a tad odd. It’s the one you asked me to keep an eye on, sis.” Astoria explained. “Nice room you have.”

“Thank you. All thanks to Fina’s kindness.”

Just that moment a little house elf popped in.

“Hi Bella.” Hermione greeted.

“Miss Hermione, Bella brought the dresses.” The little elf said.

“Thank you very much, Bella.” Daphne said, taking over the dresses. “We’ll call you if we need your service.”

“Okay Miss Greengrass.” The elf said before disappearing again.

“Let’s see which dress your aunt has gotten you, darling.” Hermione said, zipping open the protection to reveal a beautiful white dress.

“It looks good, doesn’t it Mimi?!” The little girl asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Yeah, it looks very good.” Hermione agreed, freeing the dress from the bag and showing it to Astoria and Daphne.

“Now, I’m sure you’re gonna be the eye apple at the ball.” Astoria told the girl, giving her a bright smile. “Let’s get your hair in a pretty braid to show of your wonderful face.” The girl pulled Ella with her towards the chair to start.

“You have a lovely sister, Daphne.” Hermione said with a small smile, looking at the pretty brunette who was doing Ella’s hair. She had gotten the shy girl to open up towards her fairly quickly.

“She has her moments yeah.” Daphne said proud. “But she’s more of a Ravenclaw than a Slytherin so I’m glad she didn’t end up in my house.”

“That and the fact you don’t have to share your clothes with me now.” Astoria said cheerfully, obviously having heard everything. “You’re pretty okay as well, Granger.” She said chuckling.

“Please call me Hermione?” The girl said, blushing slightly.

“As you wish.”

“And this is why she ended up with the ravens.” Daphne muttered, opening their dress cases. “She can’t keep her knowledge to herself.”

The next few hours were spent with getting ready for the ball. Hermione was surprised it took them so long and that they had to do so much to look presentable. She had never really cared for her looks but now she felt rather unconscious. Daphne had made her hair all silky so she could raise it. The blonde had pulled some straws out of her face and clicked it all together with some pearls, making the rest of her hair fall down in curls. Daphne had also done something else.

“Nothing personal, Hermione, but…” She flicked her wand and muttered a soft spell that Hermione couldn’t understand. She felt her front teeth shrink and looked up at the girl in surprise. Her parents had wanted to fix it with braces but apparently Daphne had a quicker solution.

“I thought you weren’t good in transfiguration.” The girl said, looking in the mirror and for the first time in a while feeling pretty.

“I lied. I needed some kind of excuse to befriend you.” Daphne said, changing her appearance so her long, blonde hair was raised in a similar way to Hermione’s. “Being a Metamorphmagus makes you extremely gifted for transfiguration.” She had a small twinkle in her eyes and gave her friend a dashing smile.

“I’ve never been so glad someone lied to me.” Hermione said honest. “Thanks.” She gave her friend a quick hug before walking over towards Ella to keep her in her white dress. Astoria had done a dashing job on the little girl’s hair and Hermione smiled down on her.

“You look like a princess, Ella.” She complimented.

“You think so?” The girl asked shyly.

“You’re gonna steal all the boys hearts.” Daphne said with a wink.

“But you did that already so that’s nothing new.” Hermione said, helping the girl in her dress. “You look fabulous, princess.” She complimented.

“Thank you, Mimi! So do you.” The little girl said. “We all look like princesses.” She said happily.

“Not yet.” Astoria said. “We still need to put on our dresses.”

The dress Daphne had brought with her for Hermione was a decent red dress. It was one that was slim around the waist and widened out over her hips down to her knees. It had sleeves down till her elbows and with the red ballerinas that Daphne had brought with her, she looked like a perfect Gryffindor Princess. Daphne had gone for her own house colours. She was wearing a silver dress, plastered with small silver diamonds on top and changing into green emeralds on the skirt.

“Wow.” Muttered Hermione, looking at her friend with open mouth. “You look fantastic!” She exclaimed.

That’s when Astoria entered the room again, dressed in a similar dress but with Sapphires on the skirt.

“These are the Silvertail dresses.” Astoria explained. “They kind of grow with us and we wear them every Christmas.”

“Yeah, and anyway.” Daphne said, putting on a necklace with a small ruby heart. “You look stunning yourself.”

Hermione smiled before taking Ella’s hand in hers.

“Let’s go look for your aunt.” She said smiling. “I’m sure she wants to see us before the guests arrive.”

The four girls walked through the mansion towards the ballroom where Fina was standing, wearing a simple black dress that made her look stunning.

“Girls, there you are!” She said cheerfully. “You four look wonderful! Astoria, Daphne, your parents wanted to see you before the party began. Please thank them again for all their help.”

“We’ll do, Fina.” Daphne said with a big smile, walking over towards a couple that was standing a bit further away.

“You look nice, Hermione.” The boys  had joined them and looked in approval at Hermione and Ella. Theo hadn’t arrived yet, she noticed.  

“And you look like a beautiful queen, Princess.” Malfoy complimented Ella.

The three boys were all wearing tuxedos and, besides Harry, had all made sure their hair looked nice. Both Fina and Hermione gave Harry a pulled up brow but didn’t mention his messy hair.

“Okay, boys, Hermione. I hope you guys don’t mind waiting here to greet the guests around an hour or six I am sure the most important guests are here, I will do a short speech then to welcome everyone and give them our best New Year’s wishes and all that. Afterwards, there will be dancing in the ballroom and food in the dining room. You are only expected to be here till 8, afterwards you guys can go up and do something more fun.”

“Okay Fina.” They all said.

“Oh, and one thing. I want you to be on your best behaviour. This Yule ball is a time of joy and happiness. No blood purity or anything is allowed here so if you overhear something like that, please tell Keith and Orion and they will escort them out. Have a nice evening.”

Fina drifted off towards the dining hall to make sure everything was set for later and that’s when Daphne and her parents walked over.

“Something is different about you.” Blaise muttered, as he looked his friend up and down.

“Well, she is wearing a dress.” Harry said, being his oblivious self.

Malfoy took in Hermione and it seemed as if it clicked what had changed. Which was quite a surprise, seeing that Blaise hadn’t noticed it yet and was much closer to her than Malfoy. Before the later could ask the blushing brunette if what he had noticed was right, Daphne approached them.

“Hermione, Harry, I want you to meet my parents.” Daphne said with a bright smile. The older couple they had seen her walk too, gave the group a nice smile.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass.” Hermione said, giving them both a shy smile. Harry did the same. He noticed how Daphne, even though she was a Metamorphmagus, took after her mom a lot. Although the mother showed some signs of aging, she still got the beauty both her daughters had. And it was in more than just her features. It was her attitude and how she spoke that gave the whole impression of being a powerful and beautiful woman.

“You must be miss Granger.” The woman said, shaking the girl’s hand short but forceful. Hermione knew she liked the woman. “Nice to finally meet you. Daphne has said a lot about you.” Her eyes shifted towards Harry while her husband greeted Hermione. “And you must be Mr. Potter.” She said, shaking his hand the same as she had done with the brunette standing next to her. “I’ve heard a lot about you too, young man. Quite an adventure you’ve had last year. Especially seeing that you got Theo to join you. He hasn’t joined you yet?” She asked, scanning the group.

“No, Mrs. Greengrass. He and his dad will join us together.” Blaise explained.

“I understand.” She said before turning her head towards Malfoy. “Draco, always a pleasure to see you again. And how is Ella doing?” The woman bowed down to greet the little girl. Harry was greeted by Mr. Greengrass now. Daphne’s dad seemed to look more like Astoria. He had dark brown hair and was about 6ft2 tall, but it were his bright blue eyes, the same as Daphne had, that caught Harry’s attention. They showed the same intelligence as his daughter and he knew this wasn’t a man to make your enemy, even though he seemed very kind.

“You must be Harry Potter.” His soft voice said, shaking Harry’s hand a lot less powerful than his wife. “It’s nice to finally meet you. You’ve taken up a whole chapter in my wife’s book. Impressive.”

Harry looked at him surprised.

“Your wife’s book, sir?” The boy asked in confusion.

“Oh, I totally forgot you’re not raised in the wizarding world. My wife is a magical and muggle historian. She writes books about it and you are in the last chapter of the wizarding war. You see, she has written about how the wizarding war influenced muggle war and well, seeing that you were the reason the Dark Lord was vanquished.” The man gave Harry a genuine smile.

Mr. Greengrass walked away with his wife and Harry and Hermione turned towards Daphne.

“I thought muggle were taboo for pureblood families.” Hermione said confused.

“Yeah, I suppose they are. Mom just never gave a crap about what other people thought and the Greengrass family name is taken very highly in the pureblood community. We can do what we want. And seeing that she writes some of our history books for school.” Daphne smiled at them and Hermione nodded in understanding. Harry still looked a bit baffled.

“So name is everything in the Pureblood community?” He asked to see if he understood right.

“Name and connections, Potter.” Malfoy said. “That’s why Fina put us at the door. So we can build up connections without having to mingle in the crowd.”

It seemed as if Malfoy was right. The next hour was spend greeting family after family and having some small talk before they went inside to mingle in the crowd. Harry saw a lot of his housemates arrive with their family. The Knights arrived together with Diana and Harry was reminded of the fact they were living with the Michaels since their parents had died. Flint and Adrian arrived together with their families and gave their team mates a bored look before following their parents in the hall. Theo didn’t arrive much later.

“About time you’d show up.” Blaise said, slapping his friend on his back after his father had walked away to join the Malfoys who were standing in the dining area.

“Yeah. Dad isn’t much for the whole festivities since he always has to go alone.” Theo said with a forced smile. Hermione moved over towards him and gave him a quick hug. Sometimes it was good to have a non-Slytherin friend, Theo thought. He knew Daphne would want to hug him as well but at such a prominent ball, there was no way a Slytherin would show any weakness. Talking about non-Slytherin friends.

“Are we interrupting something Mione.” Fred and George Weasley gave the brunette an amused smile before their mom slapped them on the back of their head to make sure they would behave. It seemed as if the Weasleys didn’t really know why they were here and felt a bit uncomfortable. Malfoy scowled the moment he noticed them and let the greetings to the other kids.

“Mrs. Weasley. Always a pleasure to see you.” Hermione greeted the plump woman with a big smile.

“It’s a pleasant surprise to see you here.” Harry added, giving the woman a hug.

Oh yeah… Harry wasn’t a real Slytherin sometimes either. Must’ve something to do with their upbringing. Theo couldn’t help but think.

“Welcome in Il Palazzo Zabini.” Blaise said with a charming smile, greeting Mrs. Weasley with a kiss on her hand and Mr. Weasley with a firm shake. “My mom is in the dining room and told me to send you over there. She wanted to see you again ever since Diagon Alley and thought this would be the perfect occasion.” Blaise informed them. “For the children, we have the garden they can relax in if they want. Mother has placed a heating charm on the relax area and they can play chess, talk or have some drinks and play exploding snap.” Blaise looked at the twins with an amused grin before his eyes scanned over towards the youngest Weasley.

Ginny seemed to feel even more awkward than the rest of her family and the good host he was, he wanted to make sure all his guests felt at home. He send a quick glance towards Hermione and Daphne who got the hint.

“We’ll show you the way.” Daphne said to the Weasley kids.

“And I’ll show you the way to Mrs. Zabini.” Harry said to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. The couple gave them a grateful smile before walking after Harry, talking quietly to the boy.

“So how has your holiday been till now?” Hermione asked the Weasley kids.

“You know, a lot of studying.” Percy answered, looking around to see if there was anyone who he knew. “With the owls coming up you have to spend as much time as possible on studying.

“I totally agree.” Daphne said politely. “I’m sure you can find a quiet place in the lounge to study some more.”

“For the less boring people.” Fred said.

“It was good to be away from school for a while although we’re going back next week already. Mom and dad are going to see Charlie you see.” George added.

“Charlie?” Daphne asked. “The dragon one?” She looked at Hermione for confirmation. The brunette nodded.

“Yeah, he’s in Romania so they thought they would go to see him for New Year.” Fred explained some more.

“And how have you been, Ginny?” Hermione asked, ignoring Ronald who was having the same annoyed scowl on his face as Malfoy had had when he saw them walk in.

“It was alright.” The girl said with a shy blush.

“My sister Astoria is here as well.” Daphne said. “She’s in your year. I’m sure you guys will get along.”

The two girls dropped the Weasleys off and promised to drop by when they were done with their task.

When they got back to the front door, they saw how the three Slytherin boys, Harry wasn’t back yet, were greeting the next family.

“That’s the Selwyn family.” Daphne said, starting to walk a tad slower. “I’m not a big fan of Princilla to be honest. According to Haven she’s a total bitch.”

Haven Runcorn was a Slytherin year mate of them and a childhood friend of Daphne. Hermione had met her once but that had been it. Neither of them felt the particular need to get more than acquaintances.

“Sadly enough we can’t do more than hoping they’re gone by the time we arrive.” Hermione muttered.

“The parents might be gone but I doubt Princilla will… She has the idea that ending up with the Malfoy heir will help her family out of the problems they have.” Daphne said before straightening her back. “Alright, let’s do this.”

The two girls joined the group and Hermione caught the Selwyn girls eyes. The green eyes of the girl looked coldly at Hermione as she seemed to look her up and down. Her parents had left already so she didn’t have to pretend anymore.

“I see you’re still mingling with the wrong blood, Zabini.” She spoke coldly. “Dragging Nott and Greengrass down with you and now trying to get Malfoy to abnegate his family’s believes as well?”

“My family isn’t dragged into anything, Selwyn.” Malfoy spoke coldly.

“Enjoying your last days, Granger? You’re probably next at school. If I were the heir I would go after the mudbloods that pollute the pure families.” Her cold green eyes flashed with hatred.

“We don’t want stupid thoughts like that here on the party, Selwyn.” Blaise spat at the girl, balling his fists to try and stay calm.

Hermione had taken Ella’s hand and gave her an encouraging smile. The girl seemed to notice the tension as well and she didn’t like it at all. Hermione was afraid that Selwyn might actually upset the girl so she did the only thing she could think of to keep Ella quiet, she picked her up and gave her a tight hug, the girl hiding her face in Hermione’s neck.

“I see your family has turned into blood traitors like the Weasleys then.” Princilla said coldly. “Although I’m not surprised about that. Just look at the monsters you have in your family.” She gave a cold stare at Ella who had started crying softly. Hermione could feel her magic bussing as she took the little girl away from the foul bitch. Malfoy followed the brunette, knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep his calm and would probably hex her if he stayed a moment longer.

“Who in Salazar’s name do you think you are to come here and insult my niece in my own house.” Blaise spat. “It’s one thing to insult my friends, I know they can fight back and would beat your ass in any fight, but attacking my niece.” Blaise looked terrifying and Harry who just arrived looked between him and his housemate. What had happened? Where were Malfoy, Hermione and Ella? Theo put his hand on Blaise shoulder as if he wanted to keep him from doing something stupid.

“Especially seeing that you are the one from lower status.” Daphne spoke icily. “We all know your family lost their money with your mom’s shopping addiction and dad’s bad investment. Didn’t your elves turn up at our house because the Selwyn family couldn’t afford them anymore?” Daphne seemed to be furious, her eyes looking as if a raging fire was behind them. But she kept her cool and attacked the girl where it would hurt, with words. “Who’s dress are you wearing anyway? Is that the burial dress of your grandmother? I think you even missed some dirt.”

Princilla’s mouth had fallen open and she looked at Daphne in shock.

“Who do you think you are to talk like that about my family?!” She hissed, gripping her wand tightly.

“Don’t even think about it.” Harry had put his wand subtly at the girl’s back. “You’re gonna walk over to your family right now…”

“And inform them the Zabini’s have requested your immediate departure from the party because of foul behaviour towards the youngest Zabini and Miss Granger.” Theo ended Harry’s sentence with such coldness and firmness that the young Selwyn heir didn’t even hesitate and quickly left, glaring at Harry who’s wand was tucked away again, as if nothing had happened. Once she was out of earshot, Harry turned to his friends.

“So… Care to elaborate what just happened?” He asked.

“She first insulted Hermione and afterwards she insulted Ella.” Blaise said, motioning for Keith and Orion to come over. “We’re going to the library. If mom ask tell her that the young Selwyn heir upset Hermione and Ella and that we are with them to show our support.”

“Are they alright? Do we have to kick them out?” Orion asked stiffly.

“If they haven’t left in five minutes, feel free to kick them out.” Blaise turned around and walked away. Theo, Harry and Daphne quickly following.

They entered the library and saw Ella being rocked by Malfoy while Hermione was humming a soft song. It seemed as if they had calmed the girl down as she wasn’t crying anymore.

“Is it alright if we bring Ella to her bed?” Hermione asked Blaise the moment he entered the library. “It’s 7 o’clock and she’s tired.”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll help you.” He took the little girl over from Draco. “We’ll see you guys in a bit, go and enjoy the party, greet the Weasley’s or something. We’ll come and join you when Ella is tucked in.” With that being said, he and Hermione left the library.

“I really don’t like the bitch!” Daphne grumbled, trying to get her appearance back under control. “It’s not normal how she treated Ella and Mione.”

“Well, I’m sure she won’t do that again soon.” Harry said, giving the blonde a smile. “Your speech was quiet impressive.”

“Please tell me you roasted the hell out of her, Daphne.” Malfoy asked, his fists balled now Ella was out of his arms.

“She did. Kudo’s for the grandmother’s burial dress.” Theo complimented her with a bright smile. “That was bloody brilliant.”

“Kudo’s indeed.” Draco complimented her. “I wish I could’ve seen that but I probably would’ve hexed her into tomorrow.” He grumbled.

“You didn’t miss much.” Harry said. “We’re probably gonna feel the aftermath of this at school though.”

“Probably yeah.”

 

 


	14. The very secret diary

The holiday had gone by quicker than they thought to be possible, and weirdly enough, no big fights disturbed their stay at the Zabini’s either. It seemed as if Malfoy had chosen they weren’t too bad after all, seeing how they had handled Princilla Selwyn’s terrible behaviour, and that’ how, on the last day of their stay at the Zabini’s, you could find all the kids outside in the snow. Ella and Daphne were cheering for the boys who were playing Quidditch. Hermione had offered to be referee.

“At least going to all those matches pays of in some way then.” The girl muttered.

It was Blaise and Theo against Malfoy and Harry. Flint had told them on the Yule ball that he still expected them two to be on good terms so Blaise took his words to pair them up with almost everything, enjoying their scowls a lot, but mostly doing it because it was paying off.

“You’re being biased, Granger!” Malfoy complained when she whistled a third time for a fault he had done according to her.

“How can I be biased, Malfoy? You’re on Harry’s team.” Hermione said, rolling her eyes at the blond who was hoovering in front of her.

“Obviously, you detest me more than that you like Potter.” He scoffed.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Malfoy.” Harry said, bumping into him playfully and earning himself a scowl now. He had quickly joined in making Malfoy dread every moment he had to spend with him by being extremely cheerful whenever he saw him. “She likes me too much to ever turn against us.”

“Obviously people hate me more than they like you, Potter.” The blond scoffed, before going quiet for a moment.

“Don’t get your boxer in a twist, Drake.” Blaise said, bumping into his friend from the other side. “We like you fair enough. Your charm just hasn’t started working on Hermione.” He winked at the girl who couldn’t keep herself from chuckling.

“What is it with you idiots and bumping into me today.” Malfoy whined, glaring at both Harry and Blaise.

“Stop being a whiny bitch and start playing again!” Theo yelled from above.

It was enough to motivate the other three Slytherins and get playing again.

“You know, if you wouldn’t cheat so obvious, you might actually make a chance to win this, Drake.” Blaise said teasingly.

“So I should cheat like you two do?” The blond asked, pulling up a brow.

“Or we could just play fair.” Harry said, stealing the Quaffle from Theo’s hands and racing for the goal, scoring easily. “I’m sure we can still beat them that way.” He smirked at his friends. “We are, after all, the ones who made it to the team.” He said cockily.

“For once, Potter.” Malfoy said, catching the Quaffle with a smirk. “You’re actually making sense.”

On the ground, Daphne gave Hermione a pulled up brow while Ella kept cheering for both teams.

“So…. Why were you only calling out the faults of Harry and Draco?” She asked with an amused look.

“Well…. Both Malfoy and Harry are on the quidditch team. I wanted to give Blaise and Theo a fair chance.”

“By pretending not to notice them cheating.” Daphne asked amused.

“I wanted to give them a chance of winning.” Hermione said in an afterthought.

Both girls chuckled when Ella cheered loudly because Malfoy scored again. No need to say that it weren’t Blaise and Theo who won that last game.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

Back at Hogwarts, it seemed as if not much had changed. Malfoy went back to hanging with Crabbe and Goyle, although it seemed as if the only time he actually relaxed was when he hang with Blaise, not even caring anymore that Harry was there too.

With Malfoy hanging more with Blaise, Hermione decided to take a step back from the group. They might have spent the full Christmas holiday being civil to each other, but she didn’t want to test his limits at school. Or so she told the boys. Daphne was the only one who knew that she just didn’t want to see Selwyn anymore. Ever since the ball, the girl had been worse than ever to Hermione and it was worse in the Slytherin common room, away from the teachers. That’s why Hermione and Daphne were walking the long way to the library right now, away from the common room where the guys were playing chess and where Selwyn kept giving her dirty looks. Harry had decided to join them, guessing there was more behind it. Okay, it had been Theo who had guessed there was more behind Hermione spending less and less time with them and he and Blaise had decided Harry was the right person to check up on the girl.

“So… What is really going on?” He asked as they climbed the stairs.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Hermione said, frowning as she noticed the water on the floor. “What did Myrtle do this time?” She said surprised.

“Only one way to find out.” Daphne said, for once leading the way towards the girls bathroom, tiptoeing around

“You would tell me if something was bothering you, right?” Harry said, gently keeping Hermione back. The brunette gave him a small smile.

“It’s nothing. If it means anything to you, I’ll try to just get over it.” Hermione looked at Daphne who had reached the bathroom. “Let’s first figure this out Harry and we can talk later.”

The raven haired boy followed both girls into the toilet, noticing a crying Myrtle. She seemed to be louder than ever and Harry tried to ignore the urge of covering his ears.

“What’s going on, Myrtle?” Daphne asked, scrunching her nose at the state of the bathroom.

“who’s there? Did you come back to throw something else at me?” She wailed.

“Why would we throw something at you?” Harry asked confused. He immediately wished he hadn’t asked that though as Myrtle started complaining about how she had just been minding her own business in the U-bend when a book fell down her head.

“It sounds as if someone tried to flush it and hit you by accident, Myrtle.” Hermione tried to coax the girl. “What did they throw at you anyway?”

“Did someone finally get tired of Lockhart’s books and did they want to get rid of it in a fitting way?” Harry joked, being satisfied when both Hermione and Daphne snickered at that.

“I don’t know.” Myrtle said, not seeing the humour in it. “It’s over there, I flushed it out.” She pointed at the sink and Harry walked over, bending down so he could pick up a small black book.

“I’m not sure it’s smart to pick it up straight away.” Daphne said a tad hesitantly, bending down as well so she could take a look at the book that was as wet as the rest of the bathroom.

“Why not?” Harry asked.

“It could be dangerous.” The blonde said as a matter of fact.

“Dangerous? It’s a book.” Harry scoffed.

“You would be surprised, Harry.” Daphne said. “I’ve heard of book that can burn your eyes out.”

“And you’ve come across some nasty books in the restricted section as well.” Hermione pointed out. “Someone tried to flush it down for a reason.”

“Alright… I get it.” Harry muttered, looking at the book with a bit more caution. “But there’s only one way to find out.” He picked up the soggy wet book and took a closer look. Even though the cover was a tad faded, he could still make out that it must be a diary from about 50 years ago.

“A diary.” Hermione said surprised. “Why would someone want to try and get rid of that?!”

“I don’t know. Maybe it was boring.” Harry said, opening it and finding the name of the owner in neat writing at the bottom of the page. “T.M. Riddle.” He muttered.

Daphne frowned.

“Why does that name sound so familiar?” She muttered. “What’s written in there? Maybe that will fresh up my memory.”

Harry got to the next page but to his surprise there was nothing there. The three of them looked through the diary but the only thing greeting them were blank pages.

“Here, let me try something.” Hermione stuck out her hand and Harry handed the diary to her. “ _Aparecium_.” She tipped the book with her wand but nothing happened. The page stayed blank. Even when she got the revealer that she had bought in Diagon Alley out, the pages stayed blank.

“That’s a shame.” Daphne said. “If this diary really is 50 years old, it could have told us more about the chamber and the heir of Slytherin.”

“A shame indeed.” Harry muttered, putting the book away in his bag. There was a reason someone tried to chuck the book and maybe Blaise and Theo could help him find out what that was.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

The mystery of the book was forgotten for a few days though, seeing that the teachers decided to give their students extra piles of homework, as if they wanted to make sure they kept out of the hallway as much as possible. Even though there hadn’t been any attacks anymore after Finch-Fletchly and Nearly headless Nick, they didn’t seem to think the danger had passed. Well, most of them didn’t. Harry had overheard Lockhart bragging about how the attacks had stopped because of his presence when they were lining up for Transfigurations and the roll of the eye McGonagall gave, was the exact same of how Harry felt. It wasn’t until Valentine that the book came up again.

When the Slytherins walked into the Great hall that morning, Blaise actually had to restrain Malfoy from turning around and leaving again. The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse was the heart-shaped confetti that was falling from the pale blue ceiling.

“What happened?” Theo asked no one in particular, disgust clear on his face. He saw Daphne and Hermione eating at the Gryffindor table, both laughing at the shocked faces of the boys that had just entered.

“Lockhart.” Kali said with a stone cold face. “He thought this would be the perfect ‘moral buster’ that the school needed after all those attacks.”

“If you ask me he has lost his mind.” Diana said, scowling deeply. “This is horrible!”

“Not that much of a girly girl then.” Malfoy said, pulling up a brow at the last year.

“Look at my hair and think before you speak, Malfoy.” The girl said, pointing at her blue hair.

“New colour I see.” Harry said to the girl, she had had plain black hair at the ball at the Zabini’s.

“It suits you.” Theo complimented.

“Thank you.” Diana said cheerfully.

The four Slytherins sat down and sighed when Lockhart explained that dwarves would be playing cupid all day and when they noticed how they were dressed, neither of them could keep in their laughs.

“The poor guys.” Blaise snickered.

And the Slytherins weren’t the only ones who were extremely agitated at all the valentine stuff. All day long, dwarfs interrupted classes to deliver Valentines, and late that afternoon, as the group of friends was making their way upstairs towards the library so they could start on the loads of homework and Malfoy had tagged along because Blaise insisted, one of them cornered Harry.

“Oy, are you Harry Potter?” The dwarf said grumpily.

“No, he’s Barry Trotter.” Malfoy sneered. “I thought the scar on his head was a giveaway.”

“No one asked your opinion, smart ass.” The dwarf scoffed. “I’ve got a musical message to deliver at Harry Potter in person.”

“You heard him, I’m Barry … Trotter?” He looked at Malfoy in surprise, really?

“You’ll do.” The dwarf said and Harry sighed as he gave up in defeat. He already noticed that his friends weren’t gonna let him get away from this, Hermione and Daphne were giggling behind their hands, Blaise and Theo had conveniently blocked his way out and Malfoy was waiting impatiently to get it over with.

“ _His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,_  
His hair is as dark as a blackboard.  
I wish he was mine, he’s really divine,  
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord.”

“Thank you…” Harry muttered, wanting to evaporate in thin air. “That was very…. Special.”

His friends were laughing at the boys discomfort.

“Green as fresh pickled toad.” Blaise couldn’t help but snicker.

“That I didn’t think of that!” Malfoy said smirking.

“Let’s just get to the library.” Hermione chuckled.

Harry took her idea with great mirth and quickly walked up front, Daphne tagging along and Blaise and Malfoy still laughing loudly.

“You know who send him that message, don’t ya?” Theo asked Hermione in amusement.

“I’m not sure but let’s  just say a certain red head has a thing for our saviour over there. And the whole Slytherin-is-bad-vibe gives it even more of a thrill.” Hermione chuckled.

“I see, the young Weasley has let her eyes fall on our golden boy.” Theo smirked.

“Don’t even dare to mention it to someone else.” Hermione threatened her friend who stuck to laughing.

In the library they settled in their normal spot, Malfoy looking a bit lost as to where he should sit, until Blaise pulled a chair over for his friend.

“Did you start on the potion essay yet, Harry?” Hermione asked the boy. “It is supposed to be finished tomorrow.”

The slight paling of her friend told her enough.

“I have it somewhere in here.” Harry said, grabbing his bag and emptying it on the table, pushing his books away and dropping the black diary that had been in there ever since they found it.

“Where did you get this?” Malfoy said, picking up the book, having gone as pale as a ghost.

“In the girls bathroom.” Daphne answered in his place. “Why?”

“Stay away from it.” Malfoy muttered, throwing it on the table as if it was filth. “It’s dark and evil. Blaise, I’m sorry mate. I just remember Adrian wanted to discuss tactics.”  He got up and without giving anyone a second look left.

“That was just plain weird.” Blaise said. “What is it?” He asked Harry, taking the book from the table.

“You didn’t tell them yet?” Hermione asked surprised.

“I forgot about the book and there wasn’t much to tell them.” Harry said.

“Well, it must be more than an empty diary if Drake reacts to it like that.” Blaise muttered. He pulled out his wand and muttered the same spell as Hermione had tried before checking if there were any hexes on it. “I don’t see anything particular about it.” He muttered.

“Well, I suppose there’s only one way to find out if it actually does something.” Harry said, taking out his quill and ink bottle.

“Are you sure this is a bright idea, Harry…” Daphne asked, watching the black book in distrust. “Draco did say to stay far away from it.”

“Yeah.” Harry said, some ink drippling down on the page as he kept his quill above it. “You guys are with me, what could go wrong.” He looked down and saw the page to be blank and clean. Weird, he must have imagined the spilling of ink. He decided to write something simple.

‘ _My name is Harry Potter’_ He wrote down. He knew his friends were all looking at the book, curious – and preconscious – about what would happen. The ink shone bright for a moment, before it seemed to be sucked up by the page and disappeared. Blaise hissed in surprise but shuffled away from the book when in his own ink, new words came oozing out of the book.

_Hello Harry Potter. My name is Tom Riddle. How did you come by my diary?_

“What kind of magic is that?” Hermione whispered, watching the words disappear.

“No idea…” Theo muttered.

All of them watched as Harry wrote back the answer.

_Lucky that I recorded my memories in some more lasting way than ink. But I always knew that there would be those who would not want this diary read._

“What does he mean with that?” Daphne asked surprised. Harry scrambled down the question and once again, it didn’t take long for the answer to appear.

_I mean that this diary holds memories of terrible things. Things which were covered up. Things which happened at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

“Do you think he’s talking about the heir of Slytherin? I mean, it did happen fifty years ago as well.” Blaise said.

“How much terrible things can have happened at this school.” Hermione said. “Ask him if he knows anything about it Harry.”

It seemed as if everyone had forgotten about the warning Malfoy had given them as they all waited enthusiastically for the answer to appear.

_Of course I know about the Chamber of Secrets. In my day, they told us it was a legend, that it did not exist. But this was a lie. In my fifth year, the Chamber was opened and the monster attacked several students, finally killing one. I caught the person who’d opened the Chamber and he was expelled. But the Headmaster, Professor Dippet, ashamed that such a thing had happened at Hogwarts, forbade me to tell the truth. They gave me a nice, shiny, engraved trophy for my trouble and warned me to keep my mouth shut. But I knew it could happen again. The monster lived on, and the one who had the power to release it was not imprisoned._

“Merlin’s pants.” Blaise said

“My thoughts exactly.” Daphne muttered.

“If he caught the heir, he must know his name!” Hermione said cheerful. “Ask him, Harry! Please.” She gave him her big doe eyes and the boy couldn’t keep himself from rolling his eyes.

“Mione, you might be the brightest witch of our age, but I’m not stupid. I was planning on doing that.”

She blushed and muttered an apology under her breath.

“He says he can show me…” Harry muttered. “Showing his memory from that night.”

“I’m not sure that’s a smart thing to do, Harry.” Theo said cautious.

“I doubt we have another way of figuring out what happened.” Harry said.

_Let me show you._

Appeared again on the blank pages.

Before any of his friends could stop him, he accepted the offer. The pages of the diary began to blow as though caught in a high wind, stopping halfway through the month of June. Everyone’s mouth was  hanging open as they noticed that the square for June the thirteenth seemed to have changed into a miniscule television screen. His hands trembling slightly, he raised the book, pressing his eye against the small window. He felt himself being pulled away from the library, the screams of his friends being the last thing he heard.

“Where did he go?” Theo said, panicking slightly. They had seen a bright light and suddenly Harry had disappeared, the book laying on the table, page still open on the thirteenth of June.

“I – I think he actually disappeared in the – in the book.” Hermione stuttered.

“This was such a bad idea!” Blaise grumbled. “We should’ve listened to Drake. Wizard eating diaries, great!”

“I don’t think Harry is in any particular danger at the moment…” Daphne said thoughtfully. “I think the diary might work as a pensive. I mean, he did say he wanted to show him his memory.”

“That might actually be what happened…” Hermione said a tad calmed down. “Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t bring this book to Dumbledore the moment Harry shows up again.”

The Slytherins seemed a tad hesitant at that idea.

“Can we give it to Snape?” Blaise asked. “Dumbledore isn’t really a fan of us.”

“McGonagall. Snape hates me.” Hermione countered back.

“She’s a decent witch.” Theo agreed. “You and Daphne can do that while we go and talk to Draco. He must know more about this book.”

“Agreed.”

Now they just needed to wait for Harry to return. Five minutes of nervous pacing later, the bright light shone from the book and Harry appeared on his chair again. He looked pale, as if he had seen something terrible.

“What is it?” Blaise asked, shoving the book towards the girls. Hermione quickly put it away in her bag, this thing needed to go to McGonagall as soon as possible if it had powers like that.

“It was Hagrid.” Harry spluttered. “Hagrid set the monster free in the castle. Probably by accident but he did.”

It was silent for a moment before both Theo and Blaise started laughing. Harry looked at them in shock and both Hermione and Daphne gave them a surprised look.

“Hagrid – the heir of Slytherin?” Theo snickered.

“I’m afraid that Riddle caught the wrong one.” Blaise said, trying to stop the fits of laughter. “For one, no way he’s smart enough, and secondly, you have to be able to talk to snakes and he would never be able to keep that quiet.”

What Blaise said did make sense of course, although Harry wasn’t really happy with how he put it.

“I think we should drop by and ask him about it.” Hermione said. “I mean, he did get expelled so he might know something. We all know Hagrid loves all kind of animals – Norbert being a good example.”

“He might have come across it by accident.” Daphne said. “Knowing him he probably thought it was cute or something.”

“I suppose we can give it a shot, after we talked to Draco and you guys dropped the book of at McGonagall.” Theo said thoughtfully.

“What?!” Harry stuttered. “Why are you bringing the book to McGonagall? It is our only lead.”

“It’s dangerous.”  Blaise said dryly. “Let the teachers handle it. They should be fixing the goddamn riddle anyway. Why would we, as second years, have to save the school once again?”

“Fine.” Harry huffed.

They separated ways in the hall. The boys down to the dungeons, looking for the young Malfoy heir, and the girls upwards towards McGonagall’s office.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

“Crabbe, Goyle, get out.” Blaise barked when they entered their dormitory. “We need to speak to Draco in private.”

The two boys scoffed but did get up from their bed and walked out of the room after Malfoy glared at them. He knew bloody well what this conversation was gonna be about and he didn’t want those two idiots around.

“Let me guess,” he drawled. “You wrote in the diary even though I told you not to.” His eyes drifted towards Harry. “Seriously, Potter. Listening isn’t one of your best qualities, is it.”

“The diary sucked him in and showed him a memory.” Blaise said dryly.

“Yeah. One of Tom’s favourite things to do.” Malfoy grumbled. “That and sucking away your life energy of course.”

“What do you mean, Drake?” Blaise asked worried.

“All magic comes with a price, Blaise. You should know that.” He grumbled. His Italian friend giving him a stern look. “The diary shows you it’s memories, talks to you and listens to you… but the more you tell it about yourself, the stronger it gets and the weaker you become. Dad was furious when he found out I had been playing around with it.” The boy was scowling. “I can’t tell you anything but to stay away from it. It’s dark magic. You don’t want that near you.”

“Is that really all you know?” Harry asked.

“Yes Potter. That’s all I know!” The boy grumbled. “Now if you don’t mind, I actually have to finish this potion essay.”

Theo and Blaise knew when they were being dismissed and dragged Harry out of the room.  The boy sighed and looked at his friends.

“Well, besides knowing that we took the right decision about bringing it to McGonagall, we know nothing.”

“We know that you are very lucky to not have anything bad happen to you and to listen to Draco next time!” Blaise said, slapping Harry on the back of his head. “Now, let’s get back to the library to finish that potion essay before dropping by Hagrid. I’m sure the girls are waiting already. Are you coming as well, Theo?” Blaise asked his friend who had stopped in his track.

“I think I know a way to get to know more about Tom Riddle.” Theo said thoughtfully. “Was Riddle in Slytherin?” He asked Harry.

“Yeah. He was a prefect.” Harry said. “Why? What do you have in mind?”

“Well… My dad was at Hogwarts 50 years ago. He must have been in his fourth year when the attacks happened, judging by the diary. He must know Riddle.”

“You’re gonna send him a letter?” Blaise asked.

“Yeah. Let’s just hope he answers this time. When I asked him about the attack over Christmas he said I should focus on school instead of playing saviour of the school again.”

“He has a point somewhere.” Blaise snickered. “But it’s worth a shot to send him a letter. We’ll see you in the library then after you’re done.”

The boys separated their ways and only got back together once Harry actually was half way through his essay.

“Still no Daphne and Mione?” Theo asked as he sat down in the empty chair.

“Nope.” Blaise said, finishing his essay with a smirk. “You think McGonagall got them in trouble?”

“It isn’t like her.” Theo muttered.

“And she really likes Hermione. Remember last year?” Harry added.

“You don’t think something has happened right?” Theo asked a tad worried. “I mean… with the heir being loose and all that.”

“Mr. Potter, Mr. Nott, Mr. Zabini.” Professor McGonagall approached them with a stern look. “Would you mind following me boys.”

“Is everything alright?” Harry asked worried. “Nothing happened to Hermione and Daphne right?”

“Mrs. Greengrass and Mrs. Granger are in the hospital wing.” McGonagall said. Seeing the shock pass on the normally so collected faces, she quickly added. “They got hit by quite a nasty hex, nothing to worry about now, Madam Pomfrey has them fixed. I just wanted to ask you three to keep them company until we found out who did this to them.”

“So, they’re not attacked by the heir?” Theo asked relieved.

“No, Mr. Nott. They’re not. They are healthy and out of harm’s way now.”

They entered the infirmary and the three boys quickly walked over to the girls.

“You alright?” Harry asked, giving both of them a hug.

“Yes.” Hermione muttered .

“Harry… they took the diary.” Daphne said shakily.

“As long as you two are alright.” He said, making place for Theo and Blaise who both were relieved to see the girl unharmed as well.

“I suppose that tea at Hagrid is really welcome right now?” Blaise asked, looking at both girls as if he was making sure they really were okay.

“Tea fixes everything after all.” Theo drawled sarcastically.

“We’re English, Theo. Tea doesn’t fix everything but it fixes a lot.” Harry joked.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” The boy said, rolling his eyes. “Let’s go to Hagrid.”

The two girls were helped off the bed before they took off, McGonagall watching them walk away with a worried look.

“Why do I have a feeling they will get in trouble, Poppy?” The older witch asked.

“They are friends with Harry Potter, Minerva.” The medic-witch  spoke. “No way they can keep out of trouble. It’s like the Marauders all over again.”

“But with less pranking.” McGonagall said with a small smile.

“Yeah, but just because the Weasley twins have taken that upon them.” Madam Pomfrey said, putting away the medicines she had in her hand. “And believe me, after that joke war they have had with those Slytherin girls, Hogwarts can be happy these students aren’t that much like the Marauders.”


	15. No one is safe

“I’m not sure if this is gonna be a cheerful talk.” Hermione muttered as they walked across the grounds towards Hagrid’s hut.

“How could it not be cheerful, Mione. It’s not as if we’re gonna ask him if he’s been setting a monster loose in the school that has been hunting down Muggleborns.” Theo said.

“You can be such a sarcastic little shit sometimes, Theo.” Blaise said dryly.

“Wow, you did a good job on noticing that, Blaise. What gave it away? His cheerful attitude or snarky remarks?” Harry asked, pulling up a brow at his friend.

“Both of you are spending too much time with Draco.” Daphne remarked. “Now shut up, we’re here.”

Harry knocked on the door and the five kids waited patiently for the half giant to open the door. His friends were all shuffling nervously behind him, making his heart beat even faster. He wasn’t looking forward towards this conversation but it had to be done! And anyway, they knew he wasn’t the heir of Slytherin. Hagrid was too kind for that.

The door was opened and they saw Hagrid standing in the door opening, looking at them in surprise.

“Harry, Hermione, guys. What a surprise.” He said. “Do you want to come in, have a nice cup of tea?”

“Yes please, Hagrid.” Harry said, trying his best to be cheerful.

“I’m sorry we come so unannounced, Hagrid.” Daphne said. “We just really needed to talk to you.”

“Tal’ to me? ‘bout what?” The giant asked as he poured all of them a cup of tea. He had made sure he had an extra chair in his house after the last time they had visited, not wanting Blaise to have to stand again.

“Some older years were talking a lot of crap in the common room.” Blaise said, as if he didn’t really wanted to tell Hagrid. “It was about the attacks fifty years ago.”

“I see.” Hagrid muttered, taking a sip from his tea. “What does that have to do with me?” He asked.

All of them were silent before Hermione blurted out:

“They say you were expelled because you set the monster free.” She blushed slightly and once again the Slytherins were surprised about her lying capabilities. “But of course we know that’s not true.”

“We just wanted to know the full story, Hagrid.” Harry said quietly. “So we can tell them Riddle made a mistake.”

“Oh alright.” The half giant said.

And so Hagrid told them the story about how fifty years ago he had had this completely innocent baby Acromantula – this made Blaise actually choke on his tea. As if giant spiders were ever innocent! – and how this very popular guy from Slytherin, Riddle, had caught him trying to feed poor little Aragog.

“The guy obviously g’t the wrong conclusion and told Dippet. I got expelled but Dumbledore made sure I could stay on Hogwarts.” Hagrid said. “Poor lad must have felt horrible knowing he accused the wrong guy, he even visited me with this nice girl – Knight something – to show his regret I was being kicked out of school. But the attacks had stopped, so whether it was me or not, at least s’mthing good came from it.”

“At least Dumbledore made sure you could stay here.” Harry said, not really knowing what to say anymore. If Riddle had known Hagrid was innocent, why had he shown him that memory then? And Knight? As in the Knight family?

“Yeah, saved my life. B’t now they’re questioning my integrity again… One more attack and they’re probably sending me to Azkaban.” The man said sadly.

“They can’t do that!” Hermione said horrified. “Dumbledore must stop them!”

“Nothing he can do.” The giant said before focussing on his tea again and asking them how school was going, not wanting to spend a minute longer on the last subject.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

While waiting for Amalyricus to answer, the second year students got something else to think about. The time had come to choose their subjects for third year, something everyone seemed to take very serious around Harry.

“This could influence our whole future.” Hermione said, looking at the list of subjects in front of her.

“I really don’t see the importance of this. I just wish I could drop potions.” Harry muttered, giving the list a bored glance.

“Then you obviously underestimate this, mate.” Theo said. “And you can’t drop anything yet, only after you’ve taken your OWLs.”

“Underestimate? It’s just some subjects. Why shouldn’t I go for an easy O?” The raven haired asked, looking at everyone around him.

“Because you’re a Slytherin and going for an easy O is so Gryffindor, maybe some Ravenclaws too though.” Blaise stated.

“Well… except Hermione of course.” Theo said. “She’s taking… ALL SUBJECTS?” Theo yelped.

“Don’t even think about that!” Blaise said sternly.

“That’s gonna be the end of you.” Daphne added, looking at the sheet in front of her. “Especially because of the extra-curricular courses you’re taking.”

“Ancient studies, ghoul studies…. That’s a lot Mione.” Theo muttered.

“Drop Divination.” Blaise said, looking over her shoulder.

“Don’t tell me what to do, Blaise.” Hermione hissed.

“You’re not gonna like that class, Hermione.” The Italian said dryly. “Unless you have the eye, it’s a lot of bull.”

“He’s right, Mione.” Daphne said. “And drop Muggle Studies as well, that’s such an easy O for you.”

Hermione sighed and looked at her paper.

“I suppose you’re right… I’ll drop divination and muggle studies.” With a sad look she erased those two courses. They probably were right that she would have too much to do. And it was quality above quantity, her parents always said.

“So, now that is settled.. Would you guys mind help me pick what I should do next year?” Harry said, looking at his friends

“As a Slytherin it’s kind of required to take one of those two.” Blaise said, pointing at Arithmancy and Study of Ancient Runes. “If I were you, go for Arithmancy, we’re all in that one.”

“Okay.” Harry muttered, ticking that course. “Now the second one.”

“Do you have the eye?” Theo asked.

“Eye?” Harry said confused.

“Can you look into the future.” Daphne chuckled.

“No.” Harry said. “Otherwise I wouldn’t end up in so much trouble now, don’t you think?”

“No, probably not.” The girl said chuckling.

“What are you taking?” He asked.

Daphne showed him her paper and it was obvious that Harry wasn’t gonna take her picks. She had gone for both Arithmancy and Ancient runes and above that she also had picked Ancient studies, art and the Orchestra.

“And you’re saying something about Hermione.” The boy said whistling. “That’s a lot you’re taking.”

“Nah.” Daphne said. “I have been playing the violin since I was five. This is just relaxing, like you have quidditch.”

“What did you two pick?” Harry asked Theo and Blaise.

“Same as Hermione.” Theo said, shrugging his shoulders. “Five extra courses shouldn’t be too much.”

“Same over here.” Blaise said with a chuckle. “Although mom kind of forced me into this, she is a rune mistress and expects the same from me. The others are just fun.”

“Well… I’m not as much of a nerd as you guys so I’m gonna stick to Care of Magical creatures. What are Ancient studies and Ghoul studies about?” Harry asked.

“Well, Ghoul studies is about ghouls, ghosts and poltergeists.” Hermione explained.

“I’m gonna pass on that one. Gonna stay as far away from the dead as much as possible.” Harry said.

“Ancient studies is about ancient magic. Like the ones the Egyptians used, or the old Greeks. It’s practical as well. It’s a smart one to pick.” Blaise said.

“Alright.” Harry said. “I suppose I’m doing Arithmancy, Care of magical creatures and Ancient studies next year then.”

“Smart choice.” Theo chuckled.

Harry hoped his friends were right.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

That weekend the next quidditch match supposed to be one in good weather. Not only did that make group of friends in a particular good mood, so did the fact that Theo had gotten an answer from his dad. Hedwig, who had been used for the purpose of sending the letter to Theo’s dad, landed on Blaise’s shoulder and stretched out her paw so Theo could grab the letter.

“I swear, that owl likes you more than me.” Harry scoffed as he gave his girl some bread.

“It’s because I’m so darn handsome.” Blaise joked. “No girl can resist me, not even the owl.”

“As if.” Daphne scoffed.

“What did your dad write?” Hermione asked Theo, bringing everyone’s attention back to the major subject.

Theo handed her the letter so she could read it.

_Son,_

_I was indeed friends with Tom Riddle in a faraway past._  
If you don’t mind me asking, why do you need to know?   
Any chance it has something to do with your unhealthy obsession   
of the attacks that have been happening?   
You really should focus on your schoolwork. 

_Hope to hear you soon,  
Dad_

“Unhealthy obsession?” Blaise asked after he read the letter. “Kind of obvious that you do.”

“I’ll write him back immediately.” Theo muttered. Hedwig had taken off already and the boy sighed. “Great, can I go back up those stairs…” He grumbled. “What do you think?” He showed his answer to his friends.

 _It’s not an unhealthy obsession dad._  
Hermione is a muggleborn, it’s personal. And anyway,   
We were hoping you knew more about the attacks.    
We found a talking diary that once belonged to Tom Riddle.   
We really need your help. 

_Theo_

“Looks good, mate.” Blaise chuckled.

Hermione just smiled at him gratefully.

“Well, I’m off to send it back then.” Theo said. “See you guys at the game!” He quickly finished his tea before taking off towards the owlery.

“I’m curious who will win.” Harry muttered. “If Gryffindor wins it’s actually gonna be the next game that decides.”

“See you at the next game then.” Hermione joked.

The group finished their breakfast and walked towards the hall.

“ _Kill this time … let me rip … tear!”_

Harry shouted aloud and made his friends jump.

“What?” Blaise asked worried.

“The voice! Didn’t you hear it?” He asked.

Both Daphne and Blaise shook their head but Hermione actually slapped her forehead.

“Of course. I think I understand. Theo is so gonna curse himself.” She turned around. “I have to go to the library!”

“Wow, where do you think you’re going?” Blaise grabbed her arm and stopped her from taking off.

“I need to go to the library. I already said that.” She told the Italian.

“Alone?” Daphne asked frowning.

“There is a psycho on the run and you are a target.” Harry said frowning.

“You need a body guard. I’ll come with you.” Blaise said, surprising everyone.

“You what?” Hermione stuttered.

“I suppose this isn’t gonna take long and we’re still in time for the quidditch match?” Blaise asked.

“Yeah. I just need to check a book.” Hermione said.

“Then I’m coming with you.” Blaise smiled at Daphne and Harry. “See you at the game!”

“Shouldn’t we go with them?” Daphne asked hesitantly

“I don’t know.” Harry said, watching his friends go. “I mean, they will be safe and so will everyone else. It’s Quidditch today, no one is gonna be inside with this beautiful weather.” And it’s not as if he could go up to Snape or McGonagall and tell them he heard voices no one else could hear. He actually wanted to stay in Hogwarts. He wanted to be seen as perfectly normal, thank you very much.

“I suppose you are right.” Daphne said thoughtfully. “And it wouldn’t look good if we were found once again with a petrified body if it did happen again.” She added in an afterthought.

“That’s harsh.” Harry muttered.

“There’s nothing we can do, Harry.” She said, walking towards the quidditch pitch, the boy following her hesitantly. “We’re always too late.”

They only got how true that was, when Theo joined them on the stance.

“Where are Mione and Blaise?” He asked confused.

“Hermione had to look something up in the library.” Daphne said. “I think it was about the monster.”

“You think?” He asked confused.

“Yeah, she just said she had to look it up and that you would hex yourself.” Harry explained.

Theo was quiet for a moment.

“Why would I … Merlin’s pants! We need to find them immediately, I think I know what’s in the chamber. Salazar I SHOULD hex myself!” Theo dragged both his friends down the stalls, only to be stopped by Snape.

“Mr. Potter, Mr. Nott, Miss Greengrass.” He said. “Wait here, I have to get Mr. Malfoy.”

“What?” Harry stuttered surprised.

When McGonagall announced that the quidditch game was cancelled and that everyone had to go back to their common room, a bad feeling came over them.

“What’s going on, Professor?” Harry asked worried when the elder witch joined them.

“I am very sorry mister Potter.” Was all the witch said before taking off the moment Snape joined them.

“You know what’s going on?” Theo asked Draco.

“No. He doesn’t want to tell me anything…. Says I should see it.”

They followed the two Professors into the castle but instead of going to someone’s office, they were lead to the infirmary.

“No!” Daphne cried out when she saw them.

“We found them like this with a mirror in their hand.” McGonagall said, pointing at their two petrified friends who were laying on a hospital bed.

“This is impossible.” Malfoy muttered. “He’s a pureblood!” He sat down next to the bed his friend was resting on

“I don’t know if I should laugh or cry.” Theo muttered, looking at their friends. They seemed to be in an intimate embrace. Blaise’ arm was put around Hermione’s waist, pulling her in the shelter of his chest. His other hand was raised in the air, probably the one that had hold the mirror. Hermione had one of her arms around Blaise as well while her other arm was tucked between their bodies. It seemed cosy enough, ignoring the fact they were petrified.

“That heir better watches his back.” Malfoy muttered threatening, his hand slowly touching Blaise’s.

McGonagall and Snape both left them alone to grief what had happened to their friends.

“They’re gonna be alright, Malfoy.” Harry said, recognizing the look of distress. The blond looked up at him, as if he only noticed his fellow Slytherins right now.

“If you find that heir, you better save some of him for me.” He stood up and with a last look at his friend he left the hospital wing, being escorted back to their common room by Snape. McGonagall was still giving them a moment before she would bring them back to their room.

“It’s a shame she didn’t tell us what the monster is.” Daphne said, looking down on both of her friends.

“It’s a Basilisk.” Theo said.

“What?” Both Daphne and Harry looked at Theo in confusion. “How do you know?”

“My wand, it has a basilisk core. That’s why I would hex myself.” Theo muttered, taking Hermione’s hand in his, or so it seemed. When he pulled his hand back, he showed them a crumpled page. “Hermione went to the library to check it.” He said tired. “She even figured out how the snake moves around. It uses the pipes.”

“Wait…” Harry Muttered. “It’s a giant snake… That’s why I can hear it but you guys can’t!”

“That’s why Hermione knew it the moment you asked if we could hear it.” Daphne said. “Of course!”

“Now we only need to find out where the entrance is. Let’s hope my dad knows.” Theo muttered. “Because otherwise this is still nothing.”

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

The letter back came at dinner. The group of friends had been extremely quiet with two of their friends missing, and seeing that Blaise was a pureblood, panic had started among all students, Slytherin as well. That’s why that evening, Kali had announced that all students would be brought to and from their classes and to and from dinner. Library visits would be in groups as well, no students were allowed out of the common room in groups smaller than five. Which also was the reason Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy were sitting near Harry and his friends and saw Hedwig arrive with the letter with big curiosity.

“Crap.” Muttered Theo, paling drastically as he read the letter. “This is not good.”

Daphne and Harry had the same haunted look after they read the letter.

_Theo,_

_Get that thing as far away from Hogwarts as possible._  
Send it to me, give it to that old fool Dumbledore for all I care,  
Just don’t write in it! That thing literally has the essence of the  
Dark Lord in it!   
Whatever you do, DON’T write in it and stay as far away from  
the attacks as possible. If that diary is there everyone is in   
grave danger. 

_For once please listen,  
Dad_

“At least we know why writing in it is dangerous now.” Harry muttered, not really knowing what to do right now.

“Maybe we should go to Dumbledore.” Daphne said.

“That’s not gonna work.” Malfoy interrupted their conversation. “Dad told me that he is fired as headmaster because of the attack. He also told me Fudge would be getting Hagrid to send him to Azkaban because they think he is the heir for some stupid reason.”

They all looked up at the teachers table and noticed the two empty spots.

“Oh Merlin.” Theo muttered, putting his answer back on Hedwig’s paw and sending her off quickly. “This is horrible!”

“What do you know?” Malfoy asked. “This has something to do with Blaise, doesn’t it?”

“Not here, let’s go to the common room.” Harry hissed, standing up. Kali stared in their direction and stood up herself.

“I’ll bring you to your room.” She said. “I understand that you want some time apart.”

Flint stood up as well and leaving Crabbe and Goyle behind with the food, the six students made their way to the Slytherin dormitory

“If you know something, Harry, go to Professor Snape. Or McGonagall.” She added, remembering his bad relationship with the potion master. “You could save lives.”

“I’m not sure if she will believe me Kali….” Harry said thoughtfully.

“Don’t underestimate her, Harry. She’s the deputy headmistress for a reason.” Flint reassured.

They entered the common room and Theo pulled both Harry and Draco towards their room, Daphne followed behind them a bit more graceful. Both Kali and Flint watched them walk away before they went back to the Great Hall to make sure all the other students would make it to the Slytherin common room.

“What is it that you know, Potter?” Malfoy asked, straightening his crackled robes as he gave the boy an intense look.

“It’s a Basilisk.” Harry said, knowing that Malfoy would never back down before he knew what had happened to Blaise.

“If it’s a Basilisk, how come they’re not dead?” Malfoy asked.

“They never looked the snake straight in the eyes.” Theo spoke. “The first attack there was water on the floor so Mrs. Norris probably saw the reflection of the snake.”

“The Gryffindor always had that muggle camera with him.” Daphne said. “I’m sure he was looking through that when it happened.”

“Finch-Fletchly must have seen him through Nearly Headless Nick.” Harry added thoughtfully. “I suppose the ghost saw him straight in the eyes but seeing that he already is dead.”

“And Blaise and Granger looked in the mirror.” Malfoy said, jumping on their train of thoughts. “Granger must have transfigured that the moment she was sure what the monster was.” Malfoy frowned. “Why did she look in the mirror? I am sure Blaise tried to protect her and looked first, their positions indicates that that is how it happened.”

“I don’t know.” Daphne said. “She might have looked up when Blaise started to stiffen but had the common sense to actually look in the mirror.”

“Probably.” Theo said. His eyes shot to Harry. “Are you going to McGonagall with this?”

“I probably should… But what will stop her from thinking that I am the heir?” He asked a tad hesitantly.

“You make a valid point, Potter.” Malfoy said. “And before we know who the heir is or where the entrance to the secret chamber is, that information is of no use anyway. It’s not as if they can block the pipes.”

“Sadly enough not.” Muttered Daphne with a shiver.


	16. The chamber of secrets

With summer creeping over the grounds of Hogwarts, the next week seemed to be surreal. Theo’s Dad hadn’t answered yet, and all their brainstorming about who the heir of Slytherin could be, had led to nothing.

The whole castle was tensed up, not a single person laughing or smiling. With the attack on a pureblood, even the Slytherins had gone into paranoia mood. They were escorted from and to their classes and all the restriction they were getting, seemed to be paying off. There hadn’t been any attacks any more, but well, they hadn’t been really living anymore either. The rare times you heard laughter, it sounded shrill through the hallways, as if it was forced out. The students spent their time in the library or in their common room, all extra-curricular subjects being cancelled, quidditch included.

The only one who didn’t seem to be influenced by the whole ordeal, was Lockhart. The Slytherins and Gryffindors were sitting in the DADA classroom, more grim than usual, when  Lockhart came barging in the classroom, a big smile on his face.

“Oh come on, class!” Lockhart said cheerfully. “Why all the long faces? Didn’t you get the note that the culprit has been put in Azkaban?”

“Says who?” Dean Thomas asked annoyed, not being in the mood to fake any respect for their professor.

“Says me.” Lockhart boasted. “The ministry wouldn’t have taken Hagrid if they weren’t 100% sure he was guilty.”

“Rubbish.” To everyone’s surprise it was Malfoy who spoke. “It isn’t the first time this school has tried to hide a disaster.”

“It’s definitely not the first time someone innocent has been taken down in that process.” Theo added.

“Young men, I have to say that I know a bit more about Hagrid’s arrest than you lot.”

“Sure you would.” Weasley scoffed.

“What do you mean with that, Mr. Weasley?” Lockhart spoke harshly.

“That it isn’t the first time you pretend to know what you’re doing but actually are totally useless.” Daphne snapped, surprising all her classmates but most of all herself. She was known as the Ice Queen of Slytherin for a reason.

“Miss Greengrass, I expected more of you!” Lockhart spoke coldly. “Detention for a week.”

“For what? Speaking the truth?” Malfoy came in defence of the Slytherin girl. “You utterly useless prat, if you were any good of a DADA teacher you would have found the heir of Slytherin by now and killed the monster.”

“Detention for you too, Mr. Malfoy.” The Professor said coldly. “Anyone else who wants to say something?” He looked around the class, thinking that he might have shut them up by now, his question was the wrong one to ask though.

“You know, for once those Slytherins actually make sense.” Dean Thomas said, glaring at Lockhart. “How is it that you have vanquished so many monsters but can’t even stop one that doesn’t leave the bloody castle?”

“Simple.” Finnegan sneered. “He’s a total crook. Come on, he couldn’t even block Snape back at the duelling club.”

“You two have a detention too!” Lockhart almost yelled, losing his temper. “Now silence everyone! Turn to chapter 10 and read until class is over.”

“Forget it. No way I’m gonna read this crappy books for a moment longer.” Malfoy stood up. “If Dumbledore for a chance would have hired a decent teacher, my best mate wouldn’t be petrified now and we shouldn’t have had to listen to your bullshit all year long.”

What happened next actually surprised all students. Malfoy stood up and packed his stuff, giving Lockhart a last sneer, he walked out of the class. It didn’t take long for Daphne to stand up and take her stuff too.

“We aren’t supposed to walk alone in the hallways.” Was all she said before taking off.

Harry and Theo, who had been too much in awe to actually add anything to that, followed next and before Lockhart actually knew what had happened, the Slytherins had walked out of his class, going back to their common room.

“You know.” Muttered Dean at his friends. “Even though they are major prats, you have to admit the Slytherins have style.”

His friends snickered at his comment, almost cheering when Lockhart dismissed class. No way in hell that teacher was gonna stay another year, the Slytherins actually had done them a favour.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

When they had arrived in the common room, Kali had looked up in surprise, and when she had found out about Lockhart’s class she actually had started laughing. Laughing till tears started streaming down her cheeks and all second years had looked at her in surprise. They had expected her to send them to the headmistress, or at least back to the class, but Kali congratulated them.

“Am I seeing this right? Kali Knight congratulating students for walking out of class?” Diana questioned her friend in amusement.

“Please, you can barely call that a class. All the oaf does is talk about himself and he’s not that interesting.”

Those words would be remembered by every Slytherin in the room as words of wisdom. Devin and Diana actually started cheering at that and the second years laughed relieved. They had been off the hook for then.

So when Snape had entered the common room that night, they hadn’t expected it to go as good as before.

“What you did today was something very stupid that I would expect from Gryffindors.” Snape started his preach. “But you guys did it with way more class and that’s why I give ten points to Slytherin!” A small smirk was playing around his lips. “Now, just for form, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Greengrass, you will attend detention with me tomorrow. But that will be the only punishment. You will study for your first exam, after all that’s in three days already and we wouldn’t want to have you failing. That would go against the idea of keeping this school open.”

“And this is why you are the best head of house, sir!” Malfoy said, smiling at the greasy bat. Harry rolled his eyes at his comment but for once actually agreed, no way McGonagall would have let them get off the hook that easily. Sometimes, house prejudice was a good thing. And so was a common hate for a teacher.

Malfoy sat with Harry and his friends after Snape left, playing some chess against Theo. With the exams coming up, they hadn’t been playing much, but everyone was in such a cheerful mood, both boys had decided to actually take some time off. Not having to focus on his transfiguration notes for once, Harry had some time to let his mind wander free as well. Ever since Theo’s dad had told him about what the diary exactly was, something had been nagging him, as if he had missed something.

“Malfoy… The diary has been in your house.” He suddenly said.

“Obviously Potter. Otherwise I wouldn’t have known it.” Malfoy drawled.

“No… The diary, it comes from your house!” Harry said again, a glance present in his eyes. His friends looked at him in confusion.

“Yeah, you just said that, Harry.” Daphne said confused.

“Are you alright, Potter? You’re not going mad on us, are you?”

Harry rolled his eyes and looked at Theo expectantly.

“The diary,” Theo muttered, seeing what Harry meant. “Draco, it comes from your house.”

“Don’t you start to, Theodore.” The blond scoffed.

“No, it comes from your house, Draco. What is it doing in Hogwarts if it’s supposed to be at your place?” Theo said enthusiastically.

“Well…” Draco started before frowning. “I actually don’t know. Dad said he would get rid of it after mom threatened to kick him out of the house if he didn’t.” A thoughtful look crossed his face. “It was still there this summer, I came across it again, that’s why mom got so worked up after all.”

“So your dad must have gotten rid of it before you came to school but after the last time you’ve seen it.” Daphne muttered.

“So, the best chance would have been… Diagon Alley.” Theo counted out in his head. 

“He might have sold it in Knockturn Alley and that one of the kids found it there.” Malfoy muttered thoughtfully. “I know dad went there when we were with Ella.”

“Yeah… Or he did something even easier.” Harry said, almost not believing he had forgotten this. “Your dad, he picked up Ginny’s books in Flourish and Blots before putting them back in her cauldron.”

“You mean the Weasley girl?” Malfoy asked confused. “How would she be able to open the chamber, she is in no way a descendent of Slytherin.”

“She doesn’t have to be.” Theo said, stroking his nose as he thought about it. “Did you ever do something you didn’t want when you used that book.”  Draco didn’t exactly have to answer that question, his icy silence was enough of an answer. “If the diary could make you do stuff that you didn’t wanted, I wouldn’t be surprised it’s using the young Weasley girl right now.”

“That’s terrible!” Daphne said shocked. “We should tell McGonagall straight away. She is acting headmistress at the moment.”

“We can’t just go to her without proof.” Draco spoke coldly. “She could expel the Weasley girl because of this. If we can’t prove it’s the diary, we need to solve this ourselves.”

Harry had a feeling there was playing more than just saving Ginny from being expelled. He could only imagine in what kind of trouble Mr. Malfoy would get if this ever got out. That’s why Dobby knew the school would be in grave danger! Of course. There was no way of proving Lucius Malfoy’s involvement so Harry decided to accept the help Malfoy was giving them now.

“How can we prove that it is the diary doing this?” Daphne asked thoughtfully. “It’s quite some dark magic I suppose.”

“We could go and speak to the Weaslette and ask her if she has the diary, take it from her and give it to Snape, let him figure out.” Malfoy said.

“Not so quick.” Harry spoke. “We have to prove Hagrid is innocent too, Malfoy. So we should explain how we know what the diary does, we might be able to leave your dad out though…”

“Why don’t we take this step by step?” Daphne asked. “You and I go talk to the Weasley girl, Theo you write your dad again and Malfoy, you do with this knowledge what seems right.”

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

“Ginny? You are Ginny right?” Daphne asked the little, pale first year. The youngest Weasley had jumped when they had approached her during breakfast, that being the only time they actually had a chance to talk to her. Harry was standing a bit behind Daphne who for once had changed her appearance to look more like her sister so the other Gryffindors wouldn’t suspect anything. Two Slytherins asking questions would rise suspicion. Harry actually only had joined to divide the twins their attention, something that came in handy right that moment because the twins sat down near their little sister.

“Hi guys.” Harry said a tad nervous.

“What’s up, Harry?” One of them asked, looking up from his breakfast.

“Have you heard anything about Hermione?” He asked, picking the first, random subject that came to his mind. “We’re not really allowed to visit her.”

“No, haven’t heard anything particular about her.” Fred said, taking a sip from his tea.

“Madam Pomfrey did say that the Mandragora’s are almost ready and that they probably can be revived by tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.” George added a tad happier. “I’m sure you don’t have to miss her much longer.”

Harry gave them a forced smile. He was obviously very happy with that news but how was he gonna tell the twins their sister was possessed by a diary and had attacked all these people? That is, if they actually found proof it was her.

“Ginny? Where are you going?” George said shocked, looking at his sister who suddenly had stood up to leave the Great hall.

“I have to go to the bathroom.” She said, before taking off.

“Weird.” Muttered Fred, before getting up too. “Sorry Harry, I think we have to go and make sure she is safe from the freak out there.”

“No problem.” Harry said softly. “What did you get out of her?” He asked when he sat down next to Daphne at the Slytherin table. Both Malfoy and Theo were looking at her in curiosity.

“Well… she’s definitely hiding something.” Daphne said, biting her lip as she replayed the short conversation again in her head. “She started stuttering and when I said her we could help her, she took off.”

“Well, that’s no proof so we still can’t go to the teachers.” Malfoy muttered.

“Yeah, pretty convenient for you and your dad.” Harry spat at the blond.

“Believe it or not, Potter. But the heir attacked my best friend. If there is proof about who did it and if my dad is involved in this any way, I want him to pay.”

Harry felt immediate regret and muttered a soft apology. Sometimes he forgot that this must be hard for Malfoy too. Because of his dad his best friend was petrified… With the diary that had hurt him. He couldn’t even imagine how the young Malfoy heir felt.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

That evening the Slytherins finally got some good news. Theo’s dad had answered them.

“Potter, isn’t that your owl?” Malfoy asked, pointing at the white snow owl that came roaring through the great hall.

“You know Harry’s owl?” Theo snickered.

“Obviously not, otherwise I would have told him it was his owl that came flying in the Great hall instead of asking.” Malfoy countered, making Daphne chuckle.

Harry, who had recognized Hedwig, was too focussed on his owl and the letter that she was carrying to react at the banter between his friends.

“I would think you recognize the bird that carries your love-letters.” Theo smirked at the blond who’s scowl deepened.

“Cut it out the two of you.” Harry muttered, handing Theo the letter from his dad. “Please tell me your dad knows the answer.”

Theo took the letter over from his friend and quickly scanned over it.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He grumbled. “My dad is a bloody genius and a bloody bastard at the same time. He knows where the entrance is, well kind off. So we probably should go and find …”

“ _All students to return to their house dormitories at once! All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately, please!”_

McGonagall’s voice sounded through the whole castle and the Slytherins looked up in shock.

“Another attack?” Daphne muttered.

“Not now!” Harry grumbled. “We need to get to McGonagall, or Snape!”

“No, you need to get to the bloody common room, Harry James Potter.” Kali grabbed him at his shoulder and pushed him forwards. “You’re done with playing hero on my watch. It’s way too dangerous!”

Harry shot his friends a pleading look and Daphne sighed. She muttered something in Malfoy’s ear and he nodded, Theo was nowhere to be seen.

Just when Kali wanted to lead Harry and the rest of the Slytherin house down the stairs towards the common room a scream caught their attention. Kali turned around, her wand out quicker than Harry could blink.

“What happened?” Daphne was sitting on the ground, her face hidden in her hands.

“Someone cursed her.” Malfoy said, standing next to the girl, his hands in his pockets. He didn’t seem as worried as Pansy, Tracy and Millicent were about their friend.

Forgetting Harry for a second, she bend down to examine the poor girl. That’s when Harry felt himself being pulled away from the group before the familiar feeling of his invisibility cloak fell over him. So that’s where Theo had gone.

By the time Kali would notice Harry and Theo were gone, both boys would be on their way with a not so happy Lockhart.

“Just for the record, did you have my cloak with you already?” Harry asked his friend as they rushed towards the staff room, trying not to bump into any students who were rushing towards their common room.

“Obviously.” Theo said. “It’s too awesome to just leave in you trunk.”

When they reached the staffroom, it seemed as if they were right on time. Flitwick was the last one to enter the staffroom and both boys quickly followed him, barely managing not to trip.  The teachers were all wearing different emotions. Some of them were fidgeting with their robes like Flitwick, and others were waiting stone faced like Snape. It seemed as if they didn’t exactly know what was going on. Then, at last, McGonagall entered the staffroom.

“It has happened,” she told the silent staffroom. “A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the chamber itself.”

Professor Flitwick let out a squeal in terror. Professor Sprout clapped her hands over her mouth and Snape gripped the back of a chair very hard before he said:

“How can you be sure, Minerva?”

“The heir of Slytherin left another message.” McGonagall spoke, her white face clearly showing her distress. Right underneath the first one. _Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber for ever._ ”

Professor Flitwick burst into tears and Professor Sprout gently put  a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him as she stood there trembling.

“Who is it?” Madame Hooch asked, as she let herself sit down in a chair because her weak knees couldn’t carry her anymore. “Which student?”

“Ginny Weasley.” McGonagall spoke broken. Harry’s eyes shot at Theo in shock. How was this possible? What was gonna happen to her? Were they wrong when they expected it to be her. “We shall have to send  the students home tomorrow. This is  the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said…”

The staff-room door banged  open again. For one moment Harry thought it was Dumbledore, but to his disappointment it was just Lockhart who was beaming as he walked in.

“So sorry … I dozed off. What did I miss?” He asked.

All teachers looked at him with a cold glare before Snape stepped forwards.

“Just the man.” He spoke coldly. “Just the man we need. A student has been taken to the chamber, Lockhart. Your moment has come at last.”

Lockhart blanched.

“That’s right, Gilderoy.” Sprout chipped in. “Weren’t you saying just last night that you’ve known all along were the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?”

“I – well – I” He stuttered.

“Yes, didn’t you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?” Professor Flitwick piped up, looking glad he finally could wipe the smirk from the frauds face.

“D – Did I? I don’t recall …”

“I certainly remember you saying you were sorry you hadn’t have a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested” Snape drawled. “Didn’t you say that the whole affair had been bungled and that you should have been given a free reign from the beginning?”

Lockhart stared around at his stony-faced colleagues and while he found out no-one actually liked him, Theo and Harry were arguing quietly who they were gonna ask for help. Theo obviously wanted to ask Snape for help, their head of house being the best duellist in his eyes, while Harry wanted to ask anyone for help but him. It wasn’t until Lockhart had left the room, so called to prepare for saving the young Weasley girl, and McGonagall said the head of houses had to tell their students everyone was going home and the other professors had to make sure no-one was out of bed, that Theo decided to just pull the cloak of both of them and hide it quickly before anyone noticed it.

“Professor, wait!” He spoke, Harry rolling his eyes at his friends antics. Obviously he was gonna give the professors a heart-attack by just popping up out of nowhere.

“Like those two…” McGonagall said, glaring at the two students who dared to ignore her statement of all students going to their common room. “You two better have a good reason to be here, boys.” She said.

“We do.” Theo said.

“We know where the Chamber of secrets is.” Harry added, cutting directly to the case.

“You know where the chamber of secrets is?” Snape drawled in surprise.

“Well, we don’t know it exactly but we know the entrance is in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.” Theo explained.

“How do you boys know where the entrance is?” McGonagall asked, raising a brow at them.

“Hermione found out.” Theo said quickly, not wanting to get his father into any trouble. “That’s why we only know it kind of. She had a note in her hand with Myrtle’s name on and the name of the monster.”

“She found out what the monster is?” Snape asked, and Theo was sure he was a bit impressed with the girl.

“Yes, she did. And if you think about it it’s really obvious what it is…” Theo grumbled.

“Please enlighten us, Mister Nott. No need to keep us longer in expense.” McGonagall said impatiently.

“It’s a basilisk.” Theo said as if it was obviously.

“Alright boys, thank you for this information.” Snape said, leading them out of the staffroom. “Now, Professor Sprout is gonna bring you to your common room. We’ll take it from here. “

“You can’t send us back, Professor!” Harry said, scared that they wouldn’t be in time to save Ginny.

“And why not Potter?” His head of house asked annoyed.

“Because you need him.” Theo explained.

“I’m pretty sure me and Professor McGonagall will be more than capable of taking a basilisk, Mr. Nott.” Snape spoke coldly. “I don’t see what a second year can do that we can’t.”

“I speak Parseltongue, sir.” Harry said as a matter of fact.

“Of course…” Snape said coldly. Both boys had a feeling he knew who had helped them figure everything out but didn’t say anything.  “Pomona, bring Mr. Nott back to his common room please, Mr. Potter is gonna help me and Professor McGonagall getting into the chamber first. Professor Flitwick will bring him to his room afterwards.”

“Severus, you can’t endanger the boy!” Professor Sprout said shocked.

“Sadly enough we don’t have a choice.” The Slytherin head of house spoke. “We need Potter’s special power.” He almost scoffed. “Salazar Slytherin himself made it so that only a Parseltongue can enter the chamber, and well, Potter seems to be the only available one.”

Not exactly waiting for an answer, he lead Harry back in the staffroom where Professor McGonagall was waiting for them.

“What is Potter still doing here, Severus?” She asked the other professor.

“We need a Parseltongue to get in the chamber.” Snape grumbled. “Fillius, Would you mind joining us and bringing Potter back to his common room once he has given us his help.”

“Of course, Professor Snape.” Flitwick said, jumping up from his chair. “Let’s go                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Still a bit reluctant McGonagall followed her two colleagues, pulling Harry back a bit.

“Mr. Potter. The moment that something goes wrong, I want you to turn around and run away, you hear me. Don’t look back, Professor Snape and I are more than capable of saving the young Miss Weasley and Professor Flitwick will do everything to keep you save. A basilisk is nothing to take lightly, and I don’t want you to feel the need to play hero, Mr. Potter. That’s why we are here.”

They entered the girls bathroom and saw Myrtle sitting on the cistern of the end toilet.

“Miss Warren.” McGonagall greeted the ghost. “Just the person we need.”

Myrtle looked surprised at the deputy headmistress and Harry wondered if even the teachers avoided this bathroom as much as possible.

“What can I help you with, Professor?” She asked, more respectful than Harry had ever seen her.

“Would you mind tell us once more how you died. It’s really important so please, don’t leave any details out dear.” McGonagall spoke.

Snape was standing impatiently at the sink, tapping his foot, while Flitwick had come to stand next to Harry, a hand gently placed on his shoulder, as if he wanted to tell the boy everything would be alright.  

“I – I don’t remember much, Professor.” Myrtle said. “All I remember are a pair of great big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away…” she looked at McGonagall with an almost dreamy look. “And then I came back, I wanted to hunt Hornby down. She has paid for bullying me all those years.”

“Useless.” Scoffed Snape.

“Where exactly did you see those eyes?” Harry asked, making his professors look up at him.

“Just over there.” The girl said, gesturing towards Snape.

The potion master frowned and looked at the sink.

“This seems like a dead end.” Snape spoke, looking at Harry with a big frown. “A waste of our precious time.” He drawled.

“Maybe not, Severus.” Professor Flitwick spoke. “Let’s first examine the sink before we make any decisions.”

The three Professors took a close look at the sink but it was Harry who spotted the tiny snake craved onto the side of a copper tap.

“That one has never worked.” Myrtle said when Harry pointed it out.

“A tiny snake… now what?” Snape scoffed, but Harry was sure he saw a glint of hope in his eyes.

“Well, there’s always said we need a Parselmouth to open the chamber.” McGonagall said with a small smirk. “So let’s see if Mr. Potter can do anything.”

Remembering the snakes in the common room, Harry looked at the little thing before speaking one word.

“ _OPEN”_ If the looks on his Professor’s faces hadn’t been enough, the fact that the sink retreated in the ground was. He obviously had spoken Parseltongue and exposed a large pipe that went off in the dept.

“You did it, Potter!” McGonagall spoke first of all the professors. “Professor Flitwick, please escort him back to his common room. His job is done.”

Harry’s eyes went big.

“But Professor..”

“No buts.” McGonagall said stern. “I’m not putting you in any danger.”

“But what if there is another lock?” Harry said, coming up with the one thing they needed him for.

The three Professors were quiet for a moment, McGonagall and Snape giving each other a quick look. Flitwick waited patiently for them to decide what to do, nervously ticking his foot up and down.

“Professor Snape is going first, then me, then you Potter and then professor Flitwick.”

Flitwick looked up in surprise and cocked his head at McGonagall.

“I’m going last?” He asked.

“You have to make sure nothing sneaks up after our student.” McGonagall said as a matter of fact. “After all, he made himself come down with us.”

 

 


	17. The heir of Slytherin

The three teachers looked down in the pipe and seemed to be hesitant. Harry was being very impatient though, his foot tapping at a rapid speed. They needed to save Ginny but his teachers were taking their time.

“I’ll call if it’s safe for you to come down.” Snape said, his lips forming a thin line as his eyes locked shortly with Harry’s. “After all, I don’t think we can permit ourselves with more time. The Weasley girl is down there, all by herself.”

Snape didn’t waste any more time and let himself drop down the pipe, disappearing out of sight immediately.

“Potter, listen closely. I want you to remember this spell.” McGonagall spoke, turning around to the boy. “Bombarde. It can save your life down there. I wouldn’t want you to be all helpless if something went wrong.” She showed him the wand movement and waited for him to repeat it.

“A bit more flick at the end, Mr. Potter.” Professor Flitwick said, showing it him once more.

“Minerva, everything looks good down here for the moment. You can come down.”

Soon enough, it was Harry’s turn to go down. He lowered himself slowly into the pipe before letting go. It was like rushing down an endless, slimy, dark slide. He could see more pipes branching off like the roots of a three. But none of those pipes were as big as the one he was sliding through right then, and his pipe twisted and turned a lot, making him feel rather disorientated. The only thing he knew was that he was sliding deeper below the school, deeper even than his common room. What would his housemates been doing? Probably having a lot more fun than him down here in the slimy pipes. And then the pipe levelled out, and he shot out of the end with a wet thud, landing on the damp floor of a dark stone tunnel, large enough to stand in.

McGonagall and Snape were both standing in front of them, already cleaned up and wand in their hands.

“Mr Potter, you hanging in there?” McGonagall asked as she helped him up from the floor. Snape pointed his wand at Harry and cleaned him up with a quick flick of his wand.

Just in time for Professor Flitwick to arrive.

“Well, that was surprisingly fun actually.” He said as he cleaned himself up. “Now, let’s go save the Weasley girl.”

Harry looked surprised at his professor. How could he be so positive all the time? They were in a slimy room with a giant ass snake on the loose… And did he mention the fact that the giant ass snake was probably under control of the essence of Voldemort himself?! Did he mention that last part yet to his teachers? Harry frowned as he tried to recall his chat with Snape but was pulled out of his thoughts as Flitwick gently nudged him forwards.

“Come on boy, we can take in this peculiar view another time. Slytherin did a very good job in hiding this, I mean, it must be under the lake. He was a very good architect.” Flitwick couldn’t keep the awe out of his voice.

“Yeah, if only Slytherin would have been so nice to find a less dangerous pet, we wouldn’t be in this situation right now.” McGonagall spoke, lighting up the tunnel as much as she could. But even with both Snape and Flitwick’s wands lit too, they could only see a little distance ahead. Their shadows looking monstrous on the wet wall. For a while the only sound they heard was the slapping of their footsteps on the wet flour. That was until a loud crunch made them all stop in their track. It seemed that Snape had stepped on a rat’s skull and when his head of house pointed his wand at the floor they could see it was littered with small animal bones. Harry tried his very best to not imagine how Ginny would look if they found her, if they were too late. McGonagall lead the way, round a dark bend in the tunnel.

“Potter, close your eyes.” Snape said suddenly. Harry spotted the outline of something huge and curved, lying right across the tunnel, before he did as told.

“It’s not moving as far as I can see.” Muttered McGonagall. “But we sure as hell could’ve used a rooster right now.”

“You go right, I’ll go left. And whatever you do, Minerva, don’t look it in the eyes.” Snape’s voice sounded calm and collected. All Harry could hear were the footsteps of his two professors as they sneaked up on the snake and the heavy breathing of Flitwick who was standing next to Harry, his wand drawn.

“All safe.” McGonagall said suddenly.

Harry opened his eyes again and he and Flitwick walked over. The light of his Professors’ wands showed a gigantic snake skin of a vivid, poisonous green, lying curled and empty across the tunnel floor. The creature that had shed it must have been twenty feet long at least.

“Well, I think we can say for sure it is a basilisk.” Flitwick spoke, dancing around Harry as he took in the view of the shed skin. “And not a tiny one either.”

“Nothing to be happy about Fillius.” Snape huffed. “Now come on, we’re wasting time that the Weasley girl doesn’t has.”

They walked further through the curved halls, Harry’s body was tingling unpleasantly the whole time. He wanted the tunnel to end already, yet he dreaded what they might find when it did. And then, when they crept around yet another bend, he saw a solid wall ahead of them on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds.

“Looks like it was a good call to take you with us, Potter.” Snape said.

“Could you please open the door?” McGonagall asked.

It didn’t take any effort this time. When he hissed the ‘ _Open’_ , the serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight. Harry was shaking over his whole body as he saw his teachers walk in. He looked up at Flitwick who’s wand was pulled, a cautious eye on his student and the possible danger that laid ahead in the room ahead of them.

He followed his Professors into a dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.

His heart beating in his throat, Harry followed Snape and McGonagall. How could they be so calm while the Basilisk could be lurking in a shadowy corner, behind a pillar. He pulled out his own wand too and almost jumped when Flitwick put a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him. He carefully moved forward between the hollow eyed sockets that seemed to follow him every movement he made. More than once, with a jolt of his stomach, he thought he saw one stir. When he drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall. If he had wanted to see the full statue, he would have had to crane his neck, but it was the flash of red hair between the statues feet that caught his attention.

“Ginny.” He muttered, forgetting about where he was and sprinting towards the little girl. Not hearing the cries from his Professors as he fell down next to her. “Ginny! Don’t be dead! Your brothers will kill me if you are!” He shook her softly until Flitwick stopped him and took her pulse.

“She’s still alive, but barely.” He spoke to McGonagall. “I think we’re just in time.”

“And I think you are wasting your time.” Another voice sounded through the chamber.

“You?! That’s impossible!” McGonagall’s voice sounded almost scared.

Harry looked up and saw the tall, black-haired boy that had showed him his memory, leaning against the nearest pillar, watching them.

“Riddle.” He said, glaring at the boy.

“What have you done to her?” Snape scowled as he looked at the fifth year image of the Dark Lord in front of him.

“I just let the little girl spill her heart to me. Perks of being conserved in a diary. Little Ginny is been writing in my diary for months now, telling me all her little worries and woes. How …”

“Cut to the chase Riddle. What have you done.” McGonagall spat angry, her wand pointed at the boy, anger clear in her eyes.

“Always such a bore, Minerva.” Riddle spat at the witch.

“You took control of her, didn’t you?” Harry spoke softly. “You fed off her life power and controlled her just like you did to Malfoy.”

At the mention of Malfoy, Snape’s eyes shot shortly towards Harry before focussing back on Riddle.

“Let’s end this for once and for all, Riddle.” Snape hissed. “I don’t like people hurting my godson and students.” He didn’t even wasted any more time and fired a hex in Riddle’s way that send him straight into the statue.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Snape.” He grumbled. Riddle opened his mouth wide and hissed – only Harry being able to understand what he was saying.

“ _Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four.”_

Harry wheeled around to look at the statue, his teachers doing the same. The mouth was opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole. And something was stirring inside the statues mouth, something was slithering up from its depths.

Flitwick didn’t waste any time and casted some charms that Harry only could hope were protective spells that were strong enough to protect them from the giant ass snake that was coming out of the statue.

“Protect the students!” McGonagall spoke, before firing a spell at the statue that blew up the mouth, hoping it would stop the Basilisk. Rocks fell down from above them but were deflected by the shield charm Flitwick had pulled up. It wasn’t enough to stop the basilisk though, as a snake from over twenty feet fell down in front of the shield. Flitwick stood in front of Harry and Ginny, making sure the view towards the eyes of the snake was blocked for them as he put some more protective charms up.

Snape was already firing at Riddle again. But Riddle seemed to have gotten hold of Ginny’s wand and deflected the spells easily.

“ _Kill them!_ ” He hissed at the Basilisk, before firing another hex in Snape’s direction.

Harry had pulled Ginny in his lap, rocking the girl softly. They had to save her but how? If he had understood Malfoy right, the stronger Riddle got, the weaker the victim did. And Riddle was walking around, firing spells and sending Basilisks after his teachers. Talking about Basilisks and teachers… His eyes shot towards McGonagall. The witch had decided to approach the fight a tad different than any other ordinary witch would do. Where his transfiguration teacher had been standing just minutes ago, was now a tabby cat who shot away from the snake, leading it away from her students which such speed the basilisk bit in stone instead of the elder woman, breaking of one of his teeth.

“Harry, I want you to keep a close eye on Miss Weasley.” Flitwick said, looking down on the boy. “I’m gonna help Severus, this shield should be able to protect you from anything that wants to hurt you. Stay here!” He ran over towards Riddle and Snape who were blasting hex after hex. Harry’s mouth was dry as he looked around himself. There must be something he could do without getting killed. His eyes drifted over the ground, looking for the one thing he knew had slipped his mind. Where was the bloody diary? If Riddle had gotten Ginny’s life-power using the diary, destroying it might actually save her. He spotted it five feet away from him, next to one of the fallen rocks.

“Hang in there Ginny.” He muttered, laying the girl gently on the floor. He stood up and scanned the room once more. Flitwick and Snape were both firing spell after spell at Riddle, but the guy deflected them. It seemed as if the power of two against one was getting to him though, seeing that he was only deflecting and didn’t get any spell between it. There was no sight of McGonagall but he could vaguely hear the snake in the other room, raging with anger as he couldn’t get hold of the stupid cat.

He jumped out of the protective circle, catching Flitwick’s attention. As he dived forwards towards the diary, Flitwick screamed his name before the slight distraction got him send backwards against the wall, a single drip of blood running down his sleep.

“Potter get back in that circle!” Snape hissed as with every word he said he send spells in Riddle’s direction.

“I know what I’m doing Professor.” Harry spoke, looking around for the fang that had broken off.

“My diary!” Riddle yelled angrily when he noticed what the boy had in his hands. “Put it down you annoying boy!”

Snape send another hex in Riddle’s direction but he deflected it easily and decided a different tactic would do well. He send dust towards Snape so he couldn’t see for a moment before taking him out, Harry’s head of house joining Flitwick against the wall.

“Too slow, Riddle!” Harry yelled as he grabbed the fang from the ground, plunging it straight in the heart of the diary.

A long and dreadful, piercing scream filled the air. Ink spurred out of the diary in torrents, streaming all over Harry’s hands before it flooded to the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing before suddenly, he was gone.

“What in Godric’s name are you doing out of that protective circle, Mr. Potter?” McGonagall walked over towards him, her clothes crimpled and her hair sticking out every sight. She was carrying a mirror in her hand.

“Professor, where is the Basilisk?” Harry asked worried.

“I’ve taken care of it.” McGonagall answered, twirling the mirror in her hand. “Just like you have taken care of Riddle I see.” She looked at the diary in his hands. “That was very stupid of you, Mr. Potter.” She said sternly. “But also very brave.”

“Where – where am I?” Ginny Weasley’s voice caught their attention. Harry sprinted over towards her.

“Ginny, are you alright?” He asked worried, pulling her in a tight hug. 

“Harry Potter – oh Harry.” She brought out as she saw him. “It was all my fault! Riddle – Riddle made me – I’m gonna be expelled!”

“Nonsense Miss Weasley.” McGonagall said as she helped the little girl up, carefully handing her over to Harry so he could keep her up. “We’ve seen Riddle ourselves. We know it wasn’t you dear.”

“But what will mom and dad think?” The girl asked crying.

“That you went through something terrible.” McGonagall said. “Come on dear, let’s get you out of here.” She bend down and picked up the diary before she walked over towards Snape and Flitwick who were slowly gaining consciousness again.

“I think this belongs to you.” Harry said as he picked up Ginny’s wand again before putting his own one away again. “And don’t worry, Ginny. I’ll tell your mom and dad it wasn’t your fault. Nothing can be blamed on you.” He tried to cheer the girl up as he pulled her closer. She was very weak and shivering, obviously cold. Harry put his own cloak over her, doing his best to keep her warm as they waited for their teachers to get back to them.

“I’ll carry her up, Mr. Potter.” Snape said, walking over towards him. “I think you’ve done enough heroic deeds for today. Good work.” He picked up the petite girl and left, leaving the stunned boy behind.

“Come on, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall spoke, putting her cloak around his shoulders as she motioned for him to follow Snape.

“I heard you saved our lives Mr. Potter.” Flitwick spoke. “Quick thinking with the diary.” He gave the boy a smile as they walked out of the chamber, the doors closing behind them. Next to the entrance, the Basilisk lay still on the floor, his eyes being a milky white.

“I used your friends mirror trick, Mr. Potter. Remind me to thank Miss Granger once she is revived.” McGonagall said.

“Professor, where did you get that mirror from?” Harry asked, looking up at the elder woman.

“I’m the transfiguration teacher for a reason, Mr. Potter. There were rocks enough I could transfigure.” She said with a shrug before looking at the pipe they had come down through. “You can go first Mr. Potter. Professor Snape is waiting for you upstairs.”

“But how am I supposed to get up again?” He asked confused.

“Are we wizards or not, boy?” Flitwick said cheerfully, before pointing his wand at Harry and making him float up through the pipes. The chill air was playing with his hair and before Harry knew he landed on the wet floor of Moaning Myrtles bathroom, right in front of Snape’s feet. He quickly scrambled up and when he turned around towards the opening, McGonagall and Flitwick flew out of the pipe too, landing with much more grace than Harry had done.

“Your alive!” Myrtle spoke, looking at the five people in her bathroom.

“No need to sound so disappointed.” Harry huffed.

“I was just thinking that if you died we could share my toilet.” Myrtle said.

Harry rolled his eyes before he followed McGonagall out of the bathroom towards her office, where she made sure both Ginny and Harry got a warm cup of tea before she would decide what had to happen next.


	18. Dobby's reward

“Ginny!” Mrs. Weasley ran into the office, being followed by her husband, embracing their weeping daughter. “You’re alright. You’re safe.”

To Harry’s surprise the Weasley’s weren’t the only ones walking in the office, Dumbledore followed closely. He smiled at Harry before walking over towards McGonagall. Apparently both Snape and Flitwick had to see Madame Pomfrey to let her take care of the injuries they had gotten from fighting Tom Riddle down there in the chamber.

“You saved our little girl, Minerva!” Molly said, looking at the woman who was standing behind her desk.

“I’m afraid you are mistaken, Molly.” McGonagall spoke. “It was Mr. Potter who found the chamber with his friends and it was Mr. Potter who saved your daughter in the end by destroying the diary that had possessed your daughter.”

“You saved our daughter.” Molly looked at Harry before pulling him into a tight hug. The boy stood there awkwardly for a moment before hugging the plump woman back. “I don’t know how I can thank you enough for this.”

“Seeing her alive and happy with her family is all I could wish for, Mrs. Weasley.” Harry said timidly.

Arthur Weasley had heard another part of the sentence though.

“My daughter was possessed?” He asked McGonagall, eyes big.

“It was the diary, daddy.” Ginny sobbed into his chest. “I’ve been writing in it and he has been writing back all year.”

“Oh Ginny.” Arthur spoke, hugging her even tighter. “Don’t you remember me telling you not to trust things that can think for themselves but you don’t know where they keep their brain.” He muttered softly.

“She was lured into it by someone who has done it more than once, Arthur.” McGonagall spoke. “Riddle always has been very charismatic for people he needed.”

“I think Miss Weasley should probably see Madame Pomfrey.” Dumbledore spoke, giving McGonagall a stern look. “You’ll find she’s still awake. She’s handing out Mandrake juice as we speak.”

The Weasley’s left with their daughter, being led to the infirmary by McGonagall, leaving Harry and Dumbledore alone in the office.

“Professor McGonagall told me about what happened down there in the Chamber Harry, I think that deserves a reward. 100 points for Slytherin.”

“It was mainly the teachers doing the hard work, sir.” Harry spoke, looking at his hands. “Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick were duelling Riddle and Professor McGonagall killed the Basilisk. I just took care of the diary.”

“How did you know you had to take care of the diary, son?” Dumbledore asked, looking at the raven haired boy in front of him.

“I –“ Harry hesitated a moment. He didn’t want to bring Malfoy in any trouble. After all, it was thanks to him that he knew. “I listened to Riddle. He said he used it to take Ginny’s life essence so I hoped that by destroying the diary, Ginny would be safe.” Phew, good lie.

“I see. And Tom, did he seem interested in you at all?” Dumbledore asked.

“He was too busy fighting, sir.” Harry said honestly.

“I understand.” Dumbledore spoke. It seemed as if he wanted to say more, but just that moment the door of the office flew open and Lucius Malfoy stormed in the room, fury in his face. Cowering under his arm, heavily wrapped in bandages, was _Dobby_.

“Good evening, Lucius.” Dumbledore said pleasantly, making Harry frown.

Lucius almost knocked Harry over as he swept into the room. Dobby following after him, crouching at the hem of his cloak, a look of abject terror on his face.

“So!” said Mr. Malfoy, his cold eyes fixated on Dumbledore. “You’ve come back! The governors suspended you but you decided to come back.”

Harry’s attention drifted away from the conversation the two adults were having as he looked at Dobby. The elf looked terrible and he tried to decide what he should do. He probably would get Malfoy’s hate over him if he mixed too much in their family business, but he couldn’t get it over his heart to let the small elf leave again, knowing Lucius Malfoy would probably abreact his anger on the little elf. So what could he do… his eyes scanned over the room and that’s when he spotted the diary that Dumbledore was keeping up in the air. An idea occurred.

“Very clever to use the diary and try to blame the poor Weasley girl. If Harry here hadn’t found the little book she would have been blamed for all the attacks. And imagine what might have happened then.” Dumbledore rambled on. “The Weasley’s are one of our most prominent pure-blood families. Imagine what could have happened to Arthur if they found out his daughter was a muggleborn-killer. He probably would have lost his job.”

“Very fortunate, yeah.” Lucius said between gritted teeth.

“Now, I’m sure Arthur will do anything to see how this book ended up in his daughters possession and will trace it back to the former owner to punish him for his deeds.”

“I’m sure he will, yeah.” Lucius grumbled. “Come on Dobby, we’re leaving.” He kicked the elf out of the room and both Dumbledore and Harry could hear the elf squeal in pain. Harry grabbed the diary from the table and ran after the man, deciding to put his plan into motion.

“Mr. Malfoy, wait!” The blond man turned around, his cold eyes focussed on Harry. “I think you should take this with you. After all, you’re working at the Ministry and you can make sure it gets to where it belongs.” Harry handed him the diary with a dirty sock on it.

“Salazar.” The man huffed as he threw the sock of the diary. “I’ll make sure the book gets where it belongs. But you might end the same way as your parents if you don’t learn to respect your elders.” He glared at Harry who had a cocky smirk on his lips. “Come Dobby, we’re leaving. Dobby!”

But Dobby wasn’t moving. He was holding up Harry’s disgusting, slimy sock, and looked at it as if it was a priceless treasure.

“Master has given Dobby a sock.” The elf said in wonderment. “Master gave it to Dobby.”

“What’s that?” Mr. Malfoy spat. “What did you say?”

“Dobby has got a sock.” The elf said in disbelief. “Master threw it and Dobby caught it, and Dobby – Dobby is free!”

Lucius Malfoy stood there frozen than lunged at Harry.

“You lost me my servant!”

Dobby wasn’t having any of Lucius’ shit though.

“You shall not harm Harry Potter!” He screeched.

A loud bang followed and suddenly Mr. Malfoy was thrown backwards. He crashed down the stairs , three at a time, and landed in a heap. The wizard jumped up, his wand directed in their direction but one threat of Dobby was enough to send him off.

“Thank you, Mr. Harry Potter.” Dobby said, looking up at the boy with his big eyes. “Harry Potter set Dobby free!”

“Least I could do.” Harry said shrugging. “Just promise me you’re never gonna try and save me again.”

The elf smiled it’s toothy grin and nodded once.

“Now how in Slytherin’s name am I gonna explain this to Malfoy without getting killed after all.”

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

Apparently explaining to Malfoy without getting killed was easier than he thought, seeing that Kali spotted him just the moment he told the young Malfoy heir’s elf had been set free and send a curse his way, only missing him by a hair.

“HARRY JAMES POTTER!” She yelled as she strode over, her wand pointed at the raven haired boy. “I swear, if you ever pull anything like this again I kill you myself.”

“Oh come on, Kali.” Diana said cheerfully. “He earned us 100 points! You can’t be that mad.”

“He almost got killed on my watch, Di.” Kali huffed. “100 points are nothing compared to my good name. A student getting killed under my watch isn’t good for my name.” She glared at the boy one last time before walking away.

“She’s proud, believe me.” Diana chuckled, looking at the shocked look on Harry’s face. “She just guessed no one punished you for your reckless behaviour and decided to do that in their place. Good job on saving the day once more, Harry James Potter.” She winked at him before joining her best friend.

“You set my elf free.” Malfoy’s voice was the next thing that waited Harry, apparently the show hadn’t taken his mind of that yet. “You did something I have lacked the courage for, for years.” Malfoy muttered. “Too bad I couldn’t say goodbye.” Malfoy walked out of the common room towards his bed, hoping that the elf might pop up if he called for him one more time – and yes so he did – leaving Harry alone with Theo and Daphne.

“So, how did it go?” Daphne asked.

Harry told them the whole story. About how they went down the slide, how he opened a second door easily with his Parselmouth skills, how McGonagall turned into a cat and lured the Basilisk into its own dead and how Snape and Flitwick duelled Tom Riddle as he destroyed the diary.

“Wow… And while you were getting all the fun, we were being preached by Kali because we helped you.” Theo whined.

“You also got scolded because you sneaked away with Harry and had to be brought back by a teacher.” Daphne added.

“Oh yeah… That too.” Theo muttered. “So much fun. I hope next year is gonna be better on me.” He joked.

“At least you aren’t petrified.” Daphne said, putting her arm around both boys, pulling them in a hug.

“Oh yeah. The Mandrake potion was ready.” Harry suddenly said. “I’m sure we’ll see Hermione and Blaise back soon.”

Let’s just say they couldn’t wait for the feast that night.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

Harry had been to a lot of feasts, but none like this. Everyone had come down in their pyjamas and the celebration lasted all night. Harry wasn’t sure which was the best part; The crushing hug from Hermione, the quick hug from Blaise or the fact Justin showed up to apologise to him about his wrong view on him, or Hagrid showing up around three am and hugging their group so forcefully Harry was surprised they didn’t become one person, or Dumbledore saying all exams were cancelled, the fact his 100 points had secured Slytherin the victory or that apparently Lockhart had tried to flee the school, coming across Professor Sprout, tried to obliviate her only to get his spell back towards him because of a quick shield charm and wouldn’t be able to teach anymore.

“Always knew that guy wasn’t good for anything.” Blaise scoffed as he sat in between Hermione and Draco.

“Next time I trust your judgement.” Hermione said chuckling as she took a second piece of the delicious chocolate cake .

“Just wondering…” Theo suddenly spoke. “Who’s gonna sacrifice himself next year? I mean, last year I did with the chessboard, this year it were Blaise and Hermione… That leaves you Daph. Unless Malfoy wants to join our little gang.” He joked.

“I’ll pass. Self-sacrifice isn’t really my thing.” He said, rolling his eyes at the boy.

“What a shame.” Harry said. “You were starting to grow on me.”

That new was welcomed with a lot of laughing and slaps on the back.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .             

“Looks like Flint’s plan worked out in the end after all.” Diana said, her eyes shooting to the laughing group. “Never though he would be smart enough to actually get something done.” She winked at the quidditch captain who rolled his eyes.

“Enough questioning my boyfriend’s brains, Diana.” Kali chuckled.

“I hope it stays like this after summer.” Adrian sighed. “I’m still on the team with those idiots and I need to find a third chaser.”

“So sure you’re gonna be captain.” Devin joked.

“Both Harry and Draco are too young. I’m the best choice.” He winked and the group agreed laughing.

.              .              .               .              .              .              .

The rest of the summer term went by in a blaze. With only a few minor changes. DADA was cancelled – but they had had enough practice in that Harry had joked – and Lucius Malfoy got sacked from the schoolboard. Malfoy had been pretty annoyed at that first, but he decided it was his own fault for setting a monster free that petrified his best friend.

Ginny Weasley seemed to be her cheerful self again, but Hermione and Daphne decided to keep the girl close anyway, which meant they had a sixth member of their little group – seventh if you counted Malfoy too who was spending most of his time with them anyway – a girl that actually did like Quidditch, and new something about it too. Something she quickly proved to the boys, beating them with her knowledge.

“So, can we see you out on the field next year, Red?” Theo asked. The boy decided the little girl needed a nickname, because Weasley was too vague. Red had stuck.

“Let’s hope you can.” She said cheerfully. “It all depends on if Lebowski decides to stick around or not. All the other spots are taken.”

“Another Weasley on the team. Soon enough it’s not the Gryffindor anymore but the Weasley.” Malfoy joked.

“Draco joking with a Weasley?” Daphne said, playfully shocked. “The world must be ending.”

“Magic is real dear,” Blaise said amused. “Everything is possible.”

Too soon the end of the year approached and the friends were on their way home. Sharing a compartment in the train with the twins who didn’t let their little sister out of their sight anymore. It was pretty cramped at first but a little bit of magic did miracles.

“Always nice to have elder people with you so they can do the difficult spells.” Blaise said as he put his hands behind his back, enjoying the space.

“I hope we’re wanted for more than just that.” Fred joked, laughing when Hermione kicked Blaise’s feet off the seat where she wanted to take place.

“Madwoman.” Blaise huffed.

“Obviously they wouldn’t be able to survive two months without our cheerful companion if they couldn’t load up a bit now.” George joked. “Don’t you agree, blonde beauty?” He asked Daphne who blushed slightly.

“I hope you’re not talking about me, Weasley. I prefer handsome instead of beauty.” Malfoy commented.

George looked the boy over and smirked.

“If you get a bit more muscled, I might start calling you our handsome blond.” He joked.

“I’ll pass.” Malfoy answered, ignoring Theo who obviously was having the time of his life. The fact that Harry decided to comment on it too, didn’t make it better .

“Oh look at how modest you suddenly are, Malfoy.” He said, bumping into him with a smirk.

“Are you there again with your bumping, Potter.” The blond asked scowling. Only making his friends laugh even harder.

Soon enough the train was entering the station and they were getting ready to say their goodbyes.

“Just so you know, Harry. If we don’t get any answer in a week, we’re coming over straight away to save you from those horrible muggles.” Theo said darkly.

“And if anything ever happens, you can always come to me.” Blaise told his friend.

“I’m sure it will be better this year, won’t it Harry?” Hermione asked. “Aren’t they gonna be proud of you?”

“Proud? So many ways I could’ve died and I’m still here. I’m sure this is the most disappointed they ever will be in me.” Harry joked.

And together they walked back through the gateway to the Muggle world.

 


End file.
